Romance Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Romance

Two women with fearful expressions peering through a partially open wooden door.
Review

Rebecca

by Hannah Strong

Armie Ham­mer and Lily James are woe­ful­ly mis­cast in this limp adap­ta­tion of Daphne du Maurier’s clas­sic novel.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Two young women with serious expressions, one wearing a beige blouse and the other a cream-coloured dress, in a dimly lit setting.
Review

Carmilla

by Adam Woodward

Emi­ly Har­ris’ visu­al­ly strik­ing take on the clas­sic Goth­ic nov­el fails to live up to its ini­tial promise.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Two elderly people, a man and a woman, sitting on stairs in a brick building.
Review

Eternal Beauty

by Caitlin Quinlan

Sal­ly Hawkins excels as a woman search­ing for sta­bil­i­ty in Craig Roberts’ off-kil­ter sec­ond feature.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two people seated at a colourful, graffiti-covered outdoor market stall, one wearing a pink top.
Review

Monsoon

by Fatima Sheriff

Hen­ry Gold­ing embarks on a per­son­al jour­ney to his ances­tral home­land in Hong Khaou’s sooth­ing drama.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A man and woman embracing each other, with the woman leaning into the man's shoulder.
Review

Real

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

A cou­ple strug­gles to rec­on­cile their new romance with their emo­tion­al bag­gage in Aki Omoshaybi’s direc­to­r­i­al debut.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A young man with blonde hair wearing a colourful patterned top, looking pensive and serious.
Review

Matthias & Maxime

by Hannah Strong

Xavier Dolan returns to his Québécois roots with this lilt­ing reflec­tion on lost youth and unspo­ken love.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two young women standing on a path in a wooded area, one wearing a pink and white printed dress and the other wearing a black tank top.
Review

An Easy Girl

by Lillian Crawford

This sun-bleached, Cannes-set roman­tic dra­ma from direc­tor Rebec­ca Zlo­tows­ki is not to be missed.

3
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A smiling woman in a brown jumper lying in a grassy field with a coastal town in the background.
Review

Summerland

by Ariel Klinghoffer

Gem­ma Arter­ton plays a reclu­sive writer who redis­cov­ers her roman­tic side in Jes­si­ca Swale’s ten­der wartime drama.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two individuals in period costume, one wearing a large straw hat with floral decoration, the other has a serious expression and is gesturing towards the camera.
Review

Emma

by Hannah Strong

It’s no Clue­less, but a strong cast just about sus­tains Autumn de Wilde’s faith­ful take on Jane Austen’s novel.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A person walking alone on a beach, with discarded clothing on the sand in the foreground.
Review

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

by Katie Goh

Céline Sciamma’s sump­tu­ous, qui­et­ly rad­i­cal 18th cen­tu­ry love sto­ry is one of the year’s very best.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect