Love is probably the most simple yet complicated feeling. From authors to poets to singers to common people, everyone has experienced the essence of love, but if you ask to define it, it becomes a task. Finally, there are hopeless romantic people who live their lives believing love is the most natural feeling and has no logical explanation. Now, if you are a Bollywood fan of the 90s and Shah Rukh Khan is your romantic hero, you might consider love to be a one-time thing (although he fell in love more than once in most of his iconic films). But, then, if you watch modern love stories, “Pyaar Hota Kayi Bar Hain” (love happens multiple times), No matter which version of love you believe in, you can’t deny the beauty of love. We can’t just blame Bollywood; Hollywood has also set such wonderful parameters for love. From Jack and Rose in Titanic to Sebastian and Mia in La La Land; from Monica and Chandler in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. to David and Patrick in Schitt’s Creek to Mitch and Cam in Modern Family, the list goes on and on. So, we must admit that love stories do make us happy.
Director Andy Fickman’s One True Love is a love story with a not-so-cute twist. The protagonist, Emma, falls in love with Jesse, the high school athletic guy and a national-level swimmer, and later they get married. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, Emma thought she had lost Jesse forever. Unable to process the grief all alone, Emma returns to her hometown, where she meets Sam, her best friend from high school. Sam always had a spot for Emma. Emma slowly fell in love with Sam, and soon they were to get married. An unexpected phone call makes Emma’s life complicated. However, in the end, like in any romantic film, everything falls into place, and everyone lives happily. Without further delay, here is the character guide for the film:
Spoilers Ahead
Phillipa Soo As Emma
Emma was a free-spirited person. Her parents were booksellers in the town, and Emma, unlike her sister, had no love for books. She wanted to travel around the world, feel the breeze in her hair, eat new cuisines, and meet new people. When we were first introduced to Emma, she was talking to her best friend at a party and constantly eyeing her crush, Jesse. She was attracted to him for his athletic figure and outdoorsy nature. But Emma was a shy girl in high school. She never summoned up the courage to talk to her crush. But she was not too coy to reply to Jesse once he came forward to talk to her. Jesse and Emma soon became high school sweethearts and later got married. The duo went out and traveled around the world. While Emma documented new experiences in words, Jesse documented them through the lens. The duo was the happiest couple until one day; their happiness was massacred.
Emma was all alone, and she kept on looking for Jesse even when the official search for him stopped. She was heartbroken and shattered. The loss of a loved one crumbles anyone, but when Jesse seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, There is no such thing as great pain. Soon, Jesse was declared dead, and Emma had lost all her will to live. Her sister forced her back to her hometown, where Emma would spend days locked inside the room. The outdoorsy Emma seemed to lose her spark. But amid the chaos of the pain, Emma took refuge in books. The girl who grew up saying that she would never take over the bookstall began managing it. Soon, she reconnected with Sam, her childhood best friend who was a music teacher. The two slowly fell in love. This time, Emma knew she was looking for a slow love, a love that would accept that a part of her would always bleed for Jesse and a part that would want to slow down and settle, find pleasure in little things, and not run along to explore the bigger mysteries of the world.
But the magical love story of Sam and Emma was interrupted when Emma received a call from Jesse after almost four years saying that he was alive and was coming back to her. Emma was puzzled, as she had no clue how to deal with this impossible situation. Emma supported Jesse, but she told him about her engagement with Sam. Emma agrees to travel with Jesse to the cabin, where they spend some quality, intimate time remembering their old days. This is where the audience might judge Emma for being indecisive. Emma had earlier spent her night with Sam, and after Jesse came back, she spent her days with him. However, Emma wrote a letter to Jesse, which, when he discovered it, made Jesse understand that the Emma he loved, and the Emma he has now are two very different people.
Finally, Emma runs back to Sam, knowing that no one would bring her more happiness than him. Soon, the duo got married and lived happily.
Simu Liu As Sam
Sam was Emma’s best friend. But he always loved Emma and wanted her to be happy. Sam never told Emma how much she meant to him. He moved aside so that Emma and Jesse could fulfill their love story. Emma grew distant with Sam after she was in a relationship with Jesse. Sam never complained. Later, when he reconciled with Emma, and they were engaged, Jesse came back. Sam stayed silent as well. Sam asked Emma to figure things out on her own, and he would accept any decision she made. However, this time Sam could not hold his frustration and had an outburst in front of his students. After finally telling them how he feels toward Emma, Sam understands that he needs to confess to her how desperately he feels for her. Sam is an amazing musician and an amazingly supportive partner. Well, if he isn’t a hopeless romantic, we don’t know who he is.
Luke Bracey As Jesse
Jesse is a man who loves adventures. Finding Emma was his added push. Emma, too, was someone who loved to travel. Jesse couldn’t help but fall in love with her. After his accident, he was stranded on an island for more than three years. The hope of coming back home to Emma is what got him through the most difficult times. But upon his return, when he saw a different Emma, he was furious. He blamed her for not waiting without realizing how selfish he sounded. However, Jesse was not a bad person. Although it was very difficult for him to see an evolved Emma, he remained true to his goals of being a part of the world’s greatest adventures. Soon, he met another girl and wrote to Emma how thankful he was to have found her. Had he not experienced love like Emma’s, he probably would not have come back.
Although the film has all unilateral characters, watching them was a treat to the eyes. Simple love stories are often what we need. One True Love is a film that will keep you warm on a cold night.