Lily James has starred in a range of romance films and What’s Love… is the latest to join the roster. Her journey of discovery, about both herself and another culture, is a story that will keep audiences engaged until the credits roll.
★★★★✰
The producers behind the likes of Notting Hill, Love Actually and, more recently, Last Night in Soho are back in action. Jemima Khan takes the reins as writer after being hugely inspired by her time spent in Lahore, a location that features prominently in the film. In her own words, this story “began as an exploration of the contrast between Eastern and Western approaches to romance.” Whilst for the latter arranged marriage may no longer be in favour, it remains common practice for the former. This divergence in attitudes is summed up in Khan’s comment that marriages “don’t start with love—they end with it.”
Zoe (Lily James) grows up living next door to the Khan family, and is particularly close with Kazim, or ‘Kaz’ (Shazad Latif). While she grows up and goes off into the big, bad world, her mother Cath (Emma Thompson) remains living alongside the Khans and continues to share in the joys of their Pakistani culture.
Through the white mother-daughter duo, the viewer is taught a lot of truly fascinating things about attitudes to arranged, or assisted, marriage in Pakistani culture. While Cath is more accepting, Zoe struggles to get her head around Kaz’s choice to engage with this tradition. However, as a documentary maker, she follows him down this path to Lahore, where he marries Maymouna (Sajal Ali). But all is not as it seems.
Love stories will always have an audience no matter how cliché or repetitive they become, but something new like this really pushes the genre beyond its expected limits. A sizable chunk of the audience for this film will learn a lot about the cultures and beliefs that uphold arranged and assisted marriages to this day, with Kaz’s voluntary choice to follow this option, as opposed to being forced into it, presenting the tradition without judgement.
Family is everything in What’s Love…, and this makes it all the more heartbreaking that Kazim’s sister Sumaira (Taj Atwal) faced banishment due to her decision to marry outside of her religion. Kaz’s determination to bring her back into the fold is a refreshing spin on a tale of love, embracing familial affection alongside its romantic counterpart.
Zoe’s demanding attitude towards Kaz is grating at points, as she questions his decision to go ahead with the marriage and seems to feel that she is owed an explanation. Although sometimes irritating, this works well to highlight the naivety and ignorance of many in the Western world when faced with cultures other than their own. Interestingly, she does not follow the lead of her mother Cath, who embraces everything about their neighbours’ culture right down to the clothing.
An oft-repeated and particularly powerful line is Kaz’s comment that “there is a whole continent between 47 and 49.” These numbers refer to the houses the two leads grew up alongside each other in, and points again to Zoe’s stubbornness. She is oblivious to the cultural differences and seems unwilling, at first anyway, to understand. There are also parallels drawn between the pair’s childhood and adult lives. Kaz’s childhood treehouse is a retreat not only for him to secretly smoke, but also for the two leads to share private, intimate moments. This reinforces their closeness and the longevity of their friendship.
Adding to its deliberate modernity, What’s Love… also brings a lot of edgy jokes to the table. Comments on current affairs and humour that hovers in a grey area adds an unexpected touch to it, with Emma Thompson’s character being especially quick-witted. Although not her best performance, Lily James’ Zoe serves her purpose on screen and is charming as ever. Cameo appearances from Asim Chaudhry and Sindhu Venkatanarayanan bolster the cast further, adding another layer of appeal to the film.
The Verdict
It certainly isn’t perfect but Jemima Khan’s personal touch shines through and adds to the already impressive catalogue boasted by The Working Title group. A rom-com that is profound in its own way, yet also as comfortably predictable as ever.
Words by Jamie Rooke
Support the Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.