Michael's Movie Grade: B
A well-made and moving Indonesian romance.
Like all good romance movies what makes this film work is that the main leads (Acha Septriasa, Reza Rahadian) are not only likable but you truly want them to end up together. Not only do the two actors have excellent chemistry but the script gives us a very well written and believable romance between the two. These two are well written and likable characters when they are apart but they even better when they appear together. Simply put these two are a joy to watch whenever they share the screen. In my mind this is the most important factor in any romantic movie and I am glad to say it is handled very well here. The romance is not the only enjoyable thing about these characters together. Layla is a writer who has lost her sense of fantasy and wonderment and Samir has much of this and through Samir's eyes she begins to see this again. This is just as magical and well done as any romantic scene between the two.
Naturally as is the case in most romantic movies there needs to be someone who gets in the way of the two young lovers. In this case that is Layla's fiancé (Baim Wong). Of course the movie needs to show us that this character is wrong for our protagonist. This turns out to be the film's largest fault. This character is not only a jerk but is portrayed like an over the top supervillain. The film goes too out of its way to make this character unlikable to a point where the movie loses all of its relatability and believability every time he is on screen. Unfortunately this becomes a huge fault in an otherwise well made movie. Yet what works in this movie is done well enough to overcome this huge fault.
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