Anne Hathaway finds her groove in Amazon rom-com 'The Idea of You'

ATLANTA — In the film “The Idea of You,” the meet-cute happens when 40-year-old single mom Solène Marchand (Anne Hathaway) accidentally enters the trailer of 24-year-old boy band leader Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) at Coachella while looking for a bathroom.

When she figures out the mistake, she reacts with a level of nonchalance that charms and intrigues Hayes. And his surprising maturity and self-assurance captures Solène’s heart.

Based on a bestselling 2017 novel of the same name by Robinne Lee, this sweet, gently grounded rom-com is out now on Amazon Prime.

“The Idea of You” was shot in metro Atlanta but fictionally set in Los Angeles and parts of Europe when Solène, an art gallery owner, joins Hayes on tour with his band August Moon, an amalgam of boy bands such as BTS, One Direction and the Backstreet Boys. Hayes, who is British, shies away from the inevitable comparisons to One Direction alum Harry Styles, but it’s inevitable since Styles eventually carved out a respected solo career, something Hayes seems to want himself.

“I had to humanize this person who believes that people think he’s a joke,” said Galitzine in a dual interview with Hathaway at the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown last month. “He is someone who has lived this really difficult life, becoming famous while he’s a teenager. I can understand since I very much fell into acting.”

Hathaway, who has been in the public eye for more than 20 years since “The Princess Diaries,” was bemused when he said that. “I literally have thought about nothing else since I was a child,” she said. “Fell into it! How nice! I’m just obsessed!”

Somewhat coincidentally, Hathaway actually turned 40 just days before the movie shot Solène’s fictional 40th birthday.

“I’m a producer in this movie,” she said. “You turn your producer brain on. We had to open a gate into this warehouse, a huge loading dock gate. We had to get a shot in or we’d have a meal penalty [which happens if the shoot goes beyond time for a meal]. When the gate opens, everyone screams ‘Happy birthday!’ You’d think someone was coming at me with a knife. Meal penalty! I was told, ‘It’s OK! You’re going to be fine! Enjoy this moment!’ So I did.”

Turning 40 is often considered a milestone, a moment to assess one’s life in middle age. “My feelings about it kind of made it in the movie,” Hathaway said. “I don’t think about it. I fell in love with acting from a really young age. I never believed my opportunities had any correlation with my age.”

She said as a mom, “the first thing you realize is take your idea of milestones and throw them out the window and pay attention to who your child is. I found that really helpful for all aspects of my life. I find it more interesting to engage with something than what I think it should be or expect it to be. Be present. You get surprised that way.”

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