The Home of Romance in Verona
Love in the Villa was not released with the loudness of a major blockbuster but with the feel of a movie settling in a cozy weekend watchlist. It isn’t a movie with much attention and chaos; rather, it promises a feel-good movie which brings laughter and the engaging energy of a beautiful Italian setting. The movie brings together beautiful visuals and a timeless romantic scene. What makes the movie appealing and deserving of the attention it received is the cast and crew, and the unexpected but pleasant resemblance of the movies themes to Indian emotions and culture.
This is not just a story about Julie and Charlie with an overbooked villa. It is a story about actors experiencing new milestones, filmmakers modernizing a romantic comedy, and audiences, especially Indian audiences, seeing the familiar in the exotic.
Julie’s Journey on Screen and Off
Julie (Kat Graham) is a planner by nature. She is all about strategy, structure, and devotion. She is the type who thinks the world can be repaired by the sheer devotion to organization. After a breakup, she goes to Verona to control the healing process but is unable to abandon her 🗓️ scheduling mentality. Her journey, while rather straightforward, is emotionally poignant. She learns how to relinquish control of all aspects of her life, to embrace the unknown, and to let love in without needing to plan every detail of her life.
Kat Graham’s real life journey has been as surprising and as intricate as the character she plays. Navigating Hollywood as a multi-hyphenate (actor, singer, activist) is a journey in and of itself. There’s been a pressure to keep everything “in control.” She came right off of very weighty and intense projects prior to Love in the Villa. In multiple interviews, she has mentioned how this film was an opportunity to embrace “joy, light, and human connection.” She did comment on how she had a lot of warmth and brightness which her fellow cast mates especially noted and appreciated when she was running the set.
One often overlooked detail concerning the scene where Julie suffers a breakdown during one of her vacations is the fact that it was not originally intended to be such an emotional scene. Indian audiences connected to it deeply because it is a cultural fact of life where women are often the silent emotional bearers needed in a situation, and so, emotional anchor. Kat suggested that the scene be less technical and have that emotional human touch.
The Man Who Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love
Across Julie’s character is Charlie portrayed by Tom Hopper. Charlie is a British actor known for his portrayal of muscle packed stoic characters. However, in this scene, he portrays an individual who conceals emotional pain behind a shield of sarcasm. From the perspective of an Indian audience, he portrays a character who is the essence of an emotionally closed virtue, and the stubbornness, and massive emotional burn of solitude, is a trait that is often correlated to the “silent tough hero” character that has been the face of so many Indian films.
In real life, however, Tom Hopper is known to be the complete opposite of Charlie, and has a good reputation of being the gentle and goofy character. He accepted the character because he wanted to free himself of the typecasting that he now had for action heroes. He like many had the same outdated impression of a male romantic lead, and how it was all about being funny, the absence of humor was not a significant provision, until it was.
First, Hopper getting to perform wine tasting is interesting, but then the thinking behind it is something to admire. The crew is offering supportive help, but Hopper wants to do it himself, saying, “Romance works better when the characters can laugh at themselves.” People are growing to appreciate Charlie’s humility as he certainly is much more lovable than the trailer suggests and is much more complex as well.
A Love Story That Tugged at the Heartstrings of Indians
Despite the true nature of the film being a Western rom-com, Love in the Villa has a theme very much appreciated by the Indians as well.
Fate and Coincidence are a big part of love in the Indian Story telling.
The idea that two people are meant to meet or cross paths at a certain point in their lives is a big part of the Indian Storytelling, even in the olden days of bollywood to the modern day OTT love stories.
The emotional journey of self-discovery is very common in Indian Stories as well.
This is especially evident and well appreciated in the Indian culture where love is a a very common theme but the love is a result of personal growth.
Saying that the stories are family centered, and people take emotional responsibility of the characters in stories as well is very common in Indian culture as well.
Even if the story takes place in a different country, the emotional tensions are something I can connect with. Julie opts for internal emotional restoration, while Charlie grapples with prioritizing duty and the romance. These kinds of mentalities are what I associate with the narratives of India.
And the allure of travel.
In a country where millions of people witness the glamour of European vacations through cinema, Instagram, and literature, Indian audiences for the film welcomed the City of Verona as a character, which is almost a character itself.
The Anticipation of the Movie
The release of the first trailer by Netflix was a huge event, which garnered polarized comments. On the one hand, rom and com lovers were enthusiastic as they were going to witness a travel-based romance for the first time after a long period of streaming services predominated by dark stories. On the other hand, some users were bored and promised a film that was “predictable but comforting.”
The trailer and subsequent announcements were powered by Indian social media. People travel blogging the routes of the actors and character. People digitally constructed arcs that purported to recreate the emotional evolution of the film. They compared it to Jab We Met and cited the romance and travel combo of movies such as Tamasha and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaienge. The film was a digital hit in advance of its debut.
Most of all, people loved the pair’s squabbles over what seemed to be a villa tussle, especially when some college girls argued over mess.
Behind The Scenes Aspects Not Covered By The Press
This is a good rom-com and as a good rom-com usually does, the tales from the production captured the audience just as much as the film in front of the camera.
The villa mayhem was tangible.
The production filmed at a real residential villa which meant that there was very little space to work with. The crew had a field day at the actors for, as the “plot” portrayed, they were “living the villa” as they were elbowing each other, having to coordinate their movements, and having a good laugh at the shooting conditions.
The height of Tom Hopper added unexpected humor.
Many of the prop items had to be modified as Hopper loomed over a good portion of the villa’s door frames. While the film does a good job of hiding it, the crew made a point of taking a break just to laugh at one another.
Costume designer pieces were from Kat Graham.
Some of Julie’s accessories, especially her scarves, were Kat’s own. She believed the character required elements that were representative of Julie’s character and her emotional soul.
The initial chemistry read caused the writers to rework the script.
The draft initially had Julie and Charlie as foes for the majority of the story, but that changed. The chemistry that the actors had ignited it and caused the authors to move to an early resolution of remaining conflicting elements of the story in favor of the romance and the humor.
What Is It About the Film that Cumulatively Creates the Attention of the Audience
Even if Love in the Villa isn’t the most phenomenal output in the industry, it still gets the most exemplary features of the comfort, heart, and authenticity that people (especially Indians) go for. It combines travel dreams (with the grounded), and self-discovery. And in the back of its sugary coating lies a tale molded by a cast in transition, a squad overcoming a myriad of creative hurdles, and spectators seeing much more than it hiding.