With Love

With Love Movie Synopsis: Sathya meets his school junior, Monisha, in a matchmaking setup. They like each other but Monisha suggests an idea that leads both of them to revisit their school days and old crushes.

With Love Movie Review: Debutant Madhan’s With Love is the latest addition to the wave of feel-good films that Tamil cinema has been churning out lately. Though the premise isn’t particularly new, the film attempts to find freshness through its characters and their interactions with each other.

Sathya’s (Abishan Jeevinth) sister, who has been pushing for him to get married, sets up a matchmaking meetup between him and Monisha (Anaswara Rajan). Monisha turns out to be his junior in school and the two hit it off instantly. However, Monisha comes up with an idea. She suggests that they try to get in touch and express their untold feelings to their school crushes they aren't in contact with anymore.

It does take a while for the film to find its footing. Initially, it’s difficult not to draw parallels between With Love and other recent Tamil romcoms. The initial interactions between the lead characters also lack a natural ease. However, once the film starts exploring the characters’ flashbacks, With Love becomes more assured and finds its flow.

The film relies heavily on the relatability factor. As in all romcoms, the makers have attempted to slice together situations that the audience can resonate with. But this approach doesn't always work. For instance, a character in the film states that she always knew another character was in love with her because, as a woman, she can sense it. The placement of such broad statements feels engineered for effect rather than organic. It also does not provide further context into the characters’ feelings. With Love works far better when the interactions and one-liner jokes are character-specific rather than when it resorts to being overly generalised.

With Love doesn't reinvent the genre. It follows a conventional pattern but finds the charm in its likeable lead performances, Sean Roldan’s vibrant music and a lovely supporting cast. Abishan, in his debut as a lead, does justice to the boy-next-door role. His unassuming presence helps soften the character of Sathya, who could have come across as off-putting if played by another actor. Anaswara is wonderful. She performs both the emotional and serious moments with a natural ease and without any exaggeration.