It Was Always You

The premise is not an original one, but sounded quite nice and had the potential to be thoughtfully and movingly done. Tyler Hynes is worth watching in many of his films, though there have been quite a few times where he is much better than the film itself. Am not as keen on Erin Krakow, when the character is well written she is good but when the character is not she can come over as too cold and passive. Enough of 2021's Hallmark films are worth a peek.

'It Was Always You' is one of those films that is worth a peek, but for me it isn't a must. My feelings veered between mixed to positive. As far as the 2021 Hallmark films go, 'It Was Always You' is not one of the best or one of the worst. As far as the 2021 Love Ever After entries go too (the only bad one that year being 'Beverly Hills Wedding'), it is one of the middle faring ones. It is a long way from flawless, but for me there was a lot to like about it and is namely carried by the leads and their chemistry.

Am going to start with the not so good things. The story does very little new, while it is a change of pace from the usual settings/scenarios seen typically with Hallmark there is very little doubt about how things will map out and how it would all end. Part of me felt that there were elements that could have gone into more depth and felt less hurried, especially the break up and the relationship's context (which to me was revealed a bit out of nowhere).

Giles Panton didn't seem comfortable and is on the bland side as a character that is a fairly tired variation of one of Hallmark's most overused character cliches. The final moments were a bit abrupt, despite being sweet.

However, there are many things that 'It Was Always You' does well. It's nicely shot and even better looking is the quite picturesque scenery. The music is not overused or intrusive, unlike some Hallmark films, and the film is competently directed throughout. The script is a nice mix of playfully comedic, charmingly romantic and not too schmaltzy sentiment.

Despite its predictability and imperfect pacing, the story is charming and light-hearted. The characters generally are worth caring for, excepting George. Krakow is neither cold or passive, she doesn't overdo it while not phoning it in. Hynes' character David is not easy to warm to at first but the character goes on a progression, something that Hynes brings out with easy charm. The chemistry between the two is strong, playful and with the right amount of heart the more it grows.

In summary, pleasant and inoffensive but didn't wow me. 6/10.

This was a good one! I really enjoyed it. It's a lighthearted romcom with good writing and acting. Fun plot, even though it was predictable. Believable chemistry and cute banter from Erin and Tyler. 8/10!

A woman torn between her hyper stiff fiancé who has "first boyfriend" tattooed on his face, with whom she has absolutely nothing in common and is completely oblivious of her emotions and indifferent to every single thing she says, and his manic pixie dream guy brother who spends his time playing white savior to starving children in the third world, probably flying a vintage plane around the world because, you know, he's that cool. Who is she going to pick..? You'll have to watch it to find out..

The scenery is a joy to watch and the story is well written, just poorly executed with over-the-top one-dimensional characters.

(Possibly, maybe, a spoiler. I don't think it's a spoiler at all) As for the one review that mentions going after an engaged person, I don't think this movie does that at all. In fact, the script is clearly aware of that issue and handles it perfectly. He never seduces her, he exposes her to a different approach to life by his mere presence, you can't call that seducing someone. (Now solid spoiler ahead) And the possibility of them starting their relation right away, which would be unquestionably unacceptable adds to the thrill of the story, planting a doubt throughout the last third of the movie with a satisfactory pay-off that leaves everyone happy.

We can't play moral police with every tiny detail of a movie, they need to be able to challenge our pre-conceived notions of right and wrong in order to create situations in which our heroes are trapped in dilemmas where the limits between those two become no so clear, which is where the magic happens that leads to them finding their way out through some struggle that will ultimately make them wiser, stronger, happier than they were before.

Otherwise we'd end up with stories that just skip to the happy ending.

The first really annoying scene was at the restaurant that wouldn't sell a slice of Key lime pie unless the customer orders and eats 3 dozen oysters, which appears to be all it sells. It employs a waitress who brings 2 bottles of beer to customers who ordered a Chardonnay and a water, then drops off a check without apologizing. That's not charming and a restaurant like that would likely (and should) go out of business. That said, it does set up a nice moment later on.

The movie also goes a little overboard in making Erin Krakow's Elizabeth and Giles Patton's George seem like fun hating nerd robots. George is basically a caricature and the scene where Lizzie places a complicated ice cream order (presumably meant as an homage to Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally) was not endearing (although she was thoughtful enough to hand the worker a written list).

Tyler Hynes' David comes across as a pleasant free spirited guy at first, but he orders ice cream without having any money and then selfishly and thoughtlessly plays bad, really loud rock music in the kitchen at 2am which wakes up Lizzie (and presumably everyone else). He then interferes with Lizzie's wedding appointments after promising not to.

But, eventually, the movie settles into a more enjoyable groove (love the use of "How Will I live"). And every artist on the planet will have artist studio envy once they see the location of Louise's studio. The house is also quite lovely and the cool treehouse is worth a star just by itself.

I enjoyed the gradual awakening by Lizzie and her growing affection for David. I just wish he was a cousin instead of George's brother, although that was handled gracefully at the end.

It's probably a 6 star movie but that treehouse was really cool.

It is very easy to see it as a real nice surprise from Hallmarmark. The touch of Sabrina works just well, the acting is more than good, the humor works and the tree house, golden flying pigs , the travel notes are just seductive. So, a film just nice , proposing, sure, familiar Hallmark recipe but proposing few drops of spices just inspired placed.