The Idea of You Author Robinne Lee Has Eyebrow-Raising Reaction to Movie's Ending
This story contains spoilers from The Idea of You movie and book.
Robinne Lee had a slightly different idea of the story she was trying to tell.
The Idea of You author shared her reaction to the novel's movie adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine—which is now streaming on Amazon Prime—and she has some thoughts on how the film changed the book's ending.
The Idea of You follows 40-year-old art gallery owner Solène who starts a relationship with 20-year-old boy bander Hayes Campbell. And while the duo have a true love connection, the book ends with Solène choosing to end the relationship because it was negatively affecting her teenage daughter and her art gallery business.
However, the film offers a new ending, with a short epilogue set five years later showing that Solène and Hayes do indeed get back together.
"That's not the story I wanted to tell," Robinne told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published May 3. "I wanted to make a point about how, as women, we put others' happiness before our own."
And while she was not involved in the adaption—which was written by Michael Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt—she does understand why certain aspects of the book, including the ending, were changed.
"The book is a book, and the movie is a movie," she said. "You have to step away and let the filmmakers do what they're going to do and not get too concerned with what it is you've created and when it stops because it's a completely different medium."
And when it comes to the new ending, Robinne understands that movie viewers often have trouble with films that end on a sad note.
"It's America—Hollywood's going to do what they're going to do, and they're going to throw a happy ending on everything," she said. "I don't know why. You hope they'll keep to what you've written because it meant something to you, but you also have to think about the box office and viewers and what their audience is going to want to see."
On the other hand, Robinne—who has also acted in films like Fifty Shades Darker and Seven Pounds—pointed out that a film like Titanic, which has a famously sad ending, did well with viewers. In fact, she went to see the film in theaters four times because she wanted to cry, adding, "Crying makes me feel like I'm alive."
And while she isn't opposed to revisiting her beloved characters in the future, she's not totally sold on the idea for Solène and Hayes just yet, saying, "Maybe years down the line, I'll go back, and I'll give them more time together. But we'll see."
Another change made to the film was the decision to age up Hayes from 20 to 24, something Robinne also takes issue with.
"I had to make it feel a little unsafe," she explained. "I wasn't going to make him illegal, but I wanted it to raise eyebrows. I felt like 24 was playing it too safe." (The actor, Nicholas, is currently 29 years old).
One burning question Robinne did not address is whether the character of Hayes Campbell is based at all on One Direction alum Harry Styles. But as Anne emphatically told E! News recently, "No! Everyone needs to chill. Sorry, I probably shouldn't be that reactive about it. I just think no."
After watching The Idea of You on Prime, keep reading to find what novel you should read next before checking out its on-screen adaption.
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