Katherine Loewe (Laura Dern) is in a writer’s retreat near Marrakech where fellow writers fawn over each other. She is, however, going to get the greatest compliment of her life from a writer’s fiance and finance bro. That golden hearted finance bro is Owen Brophy (Liam Hemsworth), who tells her he sees her in bed. That’s what usually happens when one’s writer fiancee places books containing another and deservedly more famous writer’s headshot. Owen loves her fiancee Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers) who, after surrounding herself with ‘intellectuals’ like her, becomes increasingly unrecognisable. Although maybe she’s the same beach read writer as she asks her fellow writers dumb questions about their countries.

Susannah Grant’s Lonely Planet feels like an apt title for Owen’s experience as he takes breaks to explore Marrakech. A foreign city like Marrakech, after all, may be the right place to find oneself as Owen does. The film, then, explores what drives Katherine and Owen together as well as what drives them apart. There is, after all, an age gap between them, a factor that occasionally slips out like a Freudian slip. Writing is also a volatile job, where big changes can affect Katherine and thus, her relationship with Owen. The film does, strangely enough, think that it’s less of an issue that Owen started out with Lily.

Most movies in male-centric are about men fleshing out their fantasies about the two mainstream genders. In Lonely Planet, the shoe’s on the other foot, and the fairness of all of this depends on who you ask. The film shows Owen’s hot body strategically, and he’s rich, and takes general interest in Katherine. I’d like to have one of him but he’s like the love interest in the porn I write. His other arc though is his ambivalence towards a business deal which, a golden hearted finance bro is unreal. Hemsworth knows what movie he’s in but there are also moments where his delivery even sounds like he’s more AI than man.

Dern’s recent work either has her playing an intense careerist (Marriage Story) or an earth mother (Little Women). On paper, her character is the former but she plays it like the latter, which is an interesting choice. There are other things that make this film interesting like how the two of them wear white constantly. They come off like these Conrad-esque characters, colonisers playing out whatever romantic drama to get out of their boredom. The film also portrays the locals as Peanuts characters and one of their ‘criminal’ acts drives the lovers apart. This is a ‘turn off one’s brain’ kind of movie, and it gets the rating it deserves.

Watch Lonely Planet on Netflix, because we at In The Seats are mainstream too.