I’m Not in Love is a 2021 rom-com from director Col Spector that follows a thirty-something whose love life flounders when his girlfriend gives him an ultimatum about marriage and children. Despite the rather relevant subject matter, I’m afraid I couldn’t fall in love with I’m Not in Love.
Al Weaver stars as Rob, a thirty-something who is living with his long term girlfriend Marta (Cristina Catalina). Rob appears to be unhappy and his situation is made worse when he’s given an ultimatum by Marta, who’s in her late thirties and wants marriage, kids, the full works. And unfortunately for Rob, he’s not sure he wants this and isn’t even sure he still loves Marta at all. He goes to his circle of friends for help, including married Sunil (Sunil Patel) and Jon (Jack Whitam) who each have their own marriage woes, and single Chris (Morgan Watkins) who prefers the single playboy lifestyle. Despite advice from his friends to stay with Marta, Rob tries to get to grips with the thought of settling down which somehow involves connecting with an ex he thought was the love of his life and going on dates with much younger women.
As rom-coms go the plot to I’m Not in Love is fairly standard, and I’m sure a man having a crisis over the prospect of settling down is something that has been done many times. There’s nothing in I’m Not in Love that we haven’t seen before, and unfortunately what we do see is fairly lacklustre. For a rom-com, it comes across as hugely lacking in any form of romance or comedy and just feels rather flat, and the reason for this comes from a variety of sources. There’s not a lot of action going on and most of the scenes are dialogue-based, and the script just isn’t powerful enough to boost these conversations to make them interesting. Don’t get me wrong the script isn’t bad, but it isn’t sharp or funny enough to make the dialogue engaging throughout.
There’s also an issue with the characters and the fact that we just aren’t given enough backstory and development to want to care about them. The opening scene to the film shows Rob’s dad leaving him and his mum, which should pave the way for some truly moving and pivotal reveals around Rob himself and his later relationships with women, but sadly the opportunities for this are missed. As a single thirty-something myself there is a lot I have in common with both Rob and Marta, but even I struggled to invest and connect with their story. It’s a shame as the acting in this is strong, and a lot stronger than I expected. Al Weaver especially does very well and fit the role of Rob perfectly, I just wish the script had given him more to work with. And I’m not just saying that because he’s a local lad from Bolton.
I’m Not in Love had promise, with a good cast and a meaningful and relevant story, especially to those of us in similar predicaments in our thirties. However unfortunately the execution and the rather muted script has let it down.
I’m Not In Love will be available on Digital Download from 12th April
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A contract manager moonlighting as a rather discerning film and book critic, with an almost fangirl appreciation for anything made by Christopher Nolan. When I’m not catching up on my latest read or watch, you can usually find me trying out my amateur baking skills – Bake Off here I come!
Your review was well written & very informative thanks Sarah. Rob’s mum appears to be actress Tessa Peake-Jones better known as “Raquel” in Only Fools & Horses.