‘The Idea of You’ Is a Groundbreaking Film About Single Moms
When I saw the trailer for The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway as a 40-year-old single mom who falls in love with a musician (okay, pop star, but we’ll take what we can get) months ago, I instantly felt seen: “If I’m not the target audience for this who is, amirite?” I muttered to, probably, the dog.
As a 39-year-old single mom, who has been on a musician kick for years, and has, from time to time (okay, more often than not) dated younger men, there was almost no way this movie wouldn’t get at least something right. I hoped. Portrayals of single moms rarely hit home. Usually, they depict us as sad, struggling, overworked, and just hoping to meet some medium-income, medium-attractive 40-something grown-up frat boy to settle down with. You know, to save us from the utter brutality of our lives, or something.
This week, I streamed the new flick as soon as it dropped on Amazon Prime, and a few minutes in, I knew that this portrayal was striving to offer something different. In one of the first scenes, Hathaway’s character, Solène, celebrates her 40th among friends, and they ask her how she feels about the milestone birthday. Her response is about being grateful for where she is in her life. And why wouldn’t she be? Though she has complicated feelings about the end of her marriage, she’s also thriving in her career as an art dealer. She’s finished with a subpar marriage. She’s mostly done the work of raising her child, who is a junior in high school, and who she calls her “favorite person.” In many ways, her life is just beginning, and even if she never meets a partner, she says she’s fine with that.