'With Love' Movie Review: An Orkut-Era Rom-Com Told With Reels-Era Freshness

Not since Dhanush’s Thiruchitrambalam has a Tamil rom com felt this “fair”. Fair, not because it’s trying to make a major political point or because it reinvents the wheel when it comes to the genre. Like most Tamil romances, this too is told from the perspective of the man, but what it does so differently is that like in Thiruchitrambalam, With Love is a film that really really cares about the woman and what she goes through in love. It might not sound like much, but there’s real joy in seeing a love story in which the exchanges feel real and clunky, as though love is something that may be treated with a fair amount of casualness. Of course, it’s obvious that both Sathya (Abishan) and Monisha (Anaswara) might end up together, but With Love shows us that their friendship is just as important as they travel together towards love. In a strange way, With Love is a romance that appeals to the part of you that loves bromances more. 

That’s the takeaway we experience right from the beginning when we see Sathya and Monisha together. We meet them for the first time during their first meeting, and they talk with the comfort of old buddies bumping into each other casually. As they settle down for several cups of coffee, we too do not realise the passing of time, just like they do not. Instead of making them appear as rank opposites, as the cliche goes in rom-coms,  it’s their similarities that make them feel in sync. So, if the film paints Sathya out to be a chiller, without any major ambitions, you get that feeling about Monisha too, despite the 1.5 million followers she has on Instagram. There’s no awkwardness between the two and this is helped by the fact that they studied together in school, even if they hardly knew each other then. This familiarity goes a long way in allowing themselves to open up to each other, perhaps even more than the purview of a random first meeting. They exchange stories and speak freely about their respective heartbreaks, with Monisha’s feelings being given just as much time as Sathya’s. And when the meeting ends with the promise of a life-altering plan for later, what we witness isn’t exactly love…it feels like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Which is why we fully buy into the scenario that follows, with Sathya and Monisha deciding to travel together to Tiruchy despite their friendship turning just a day old. The dynamics of their relationship translate just as well, even when they decide to spend the night in the same hotel room, even if the film makes their sleeping arrangement (with Sathya on the extra bed) obvious. Instead of observing them as outsiders, we too begin to think like them, as though we know them well enough. So, if they’re sharing the hotel room (he leaves the room when it’s time for her to change), it’s the practicality of it that comes to mind, even before we begin to judge. 

It’s the same practicality that adds another layer to their relationship, even when it comes to getting physical. Their comfort zone is evident even here, without the film giving it the importance of a major plot point. And when Sathya innocently begins to think they’ve somehow become more than friends after this “fateful” night, Monisha shuts him up, giving it only the seriousness it deserves. It’s the sort of friendship that makes it impossible to disengage with. We remain invested in the individual stories of the duo, even when the second half begins to wobble.

When the film detours towards serious topics, there’s always a lighter, happier moment just a scene away. And we don’t take the film too seriously because neither Monisha nor Sathya take themselves seriously. This self-awareness goes a long way in keeping the film moving forward when it gets to a place we can see from afar. We sense their friendship getting stronger too, without the need for the film to spell out a specific point at which it grows into something more. And for a film that begins with a photo of Yuvan Shankar Raja on the wall, With Love treats love failure too with soft hands, as though it’s a part of life and not life itself. 

Anaswara and Abishan are pitch-perfect as this duo; strangely, it’s as though they DO NOT see themselves as people with that main character energy, giving their performances an enjoyable silliness. Anaswara has already done similar roles in Malayalam, but Abishan really aces the easy presence, exuding a likeability you hardly see in a new actor. And Madhan, a first-time director, shows perfect control over his material, especially when the film uses visuals alone to show you how Sathya has found a way to set himself free of his idea of first love, only for those very moments to be replaced by thoughts of Monisha. It seems like a complex thought, but the ease with which Madhan shoots this is proof of his ability as a filmmaker, supporting his vision as a writer. Which is not to say that he reinvents the wheel when it comes to the Tamil rom-com sub genre. But with so many lovely touches, a cute couple at its core and a balanced way of getting us to see love from two viewpoints, it wouldn’t be unfair to call With Love a small step forward for the genre. Just when rom-coms felt too passé, that too a week before Valentine’s, here’s a situation-ship comedy made…With Love.