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One of the odder trends in 2024 cinema has involved romances, some of them steamy, between middle-aged women and much younger men. Anne Hathaway starred in one, Léa Drucker in another, and Nicole Kidman in not one but two more. This plot is hardly new, either in concept — Hollywood history is riddled with older men romancing ingénues — or in this specifically gendered execution, with examples from “The Graduate” to “May December” in the canon.
But this year’s bumper crop is noticeable and a little inexplicable. The nature of the tale is fairly consistent: A woman is on a journey of self-understanding, and the liaison is the key to unlocking some ineffable thing she’s lost. The relationship may or may not be fated for long-term success, but it points to double standards about women’s pleasure and also can make for some pretty hot cinema.
In this 2024 lineup, “Lonely Planet” is distinctive mostly for being the one starring Laura Dern. Unfortunately, despite its wattage, it pales in comparison to its cousins.
Dern plays Katherine Loewe, a novelist of some renown who’s flown to Marrakesh for a chic writers residency. She’s on deadline, but also in the midst of a bad breakup. Flustered and exhausted, she is hoping to find the head space she needs to finally finish her next book.
Among the other residency guests is Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers), whose first book made her an instant literary star. She’s uncertain of herself, and still young enough to be star-struck by other writers in attendance, including Katherine. And she’s also still young enough to have brought her boyfriend, Owen (Liam Hemsworth), along with her. (A seasoned writer, presumably, would know enough about the usual residency social scene to leave him back in New York.) But Lily is annoyed that Owen keeps having to leave their room at night to take calls about some deal that he’s making at his private equity firm.
That Owen and Katherine will end up connecting seems inevitable; the only question is how, and why. The formula dictates that each character needs to see in the other something they lack, some part of themselves that they’ve abandoned. The magnetism of that other person is undeniable and revelatory and healing. But this is where “Lonely Planet” goes awry.
Susannah Grant, who wrote and directed this film, also penned celebrated screenplays including “Pocahontas,” “Ever After,” “28 Days” and “Erin Brockovich,” and wrote on shows like “Party of Five” and “Unbelievable.” This fact feels baffling when considering “Lonely Planet,” which seems to lack some basic sense of both Owen and Katherine. It feels as if we’re meant to think that Owen’s evident resentment of Lily’s success is, if not justifiable, at least understandable. But it’s his defining quality, which makes the reasons unclear why someone like Katherine would find herself attracted to him even as a friend, let alone a lover. (Perhaps the reason is just that he looks like Liam Hemsworth, but come on.)
Similarly, Katherine is strangely hollow, a woman who’s lived a full life but seems weirdly uninteresting, at least to us. Lily is enamored of her writing, but we have to just take her word for it. What we see of Katherine is a woman who is sad and harried but hardly in need of anyone to help her find her way again.
Those elisions can be forgiven, if the chemistry is good. It is not. For this to work, the relationship needs a certain element of inevitability and comfort. Theirs is stilted.
So there’s nothing here really about desire or difference or revelation. Instead, “Lonely Planet” locates the impetus for self-discovery in travel itself, with several characters discussing the benefits of removing yourself from familiar surroundings to learn more about who you really are. That is, of course, absolutely true. But what these characters are trying to discover is muddy and vague and ultimately unsatisfying.
Perhaps the best thing about the movie is that it reminds us what it takes to make any romance work onscreen, especially an unexpected one. Beautiful people in beautiful places can be fun to look at, but you need more than just a pretty face to keep your interest over the long term (or a feature-length film).
Lonely PlanetRated R for some language and a pretty tame sex scene. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. Watch on Netflix.
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