Yes, I watched this solely because Jessie Buckley starred. But after the disappointing damp squibs of Saltburn and Maestro I needed a decent cinema fix. And I got it.
Don't get me wrong the story of testing love by burning torn-out fingernails is a tad silly, but Buckley and Ahmed manage to bring it to life. Buckley is excellent as Anna, a girl who can't make up her mind who she loves.
For me the story was that you can find what you think is love, until you realise that perhaps it's a deep comforting sameness that you're in love with. A ritualistic familiarity that makes you feel safe. The familiar face at the end of the sofa is symbolic of home and it takes a big wrench to realise that that face doesn't make you 'want' anymore.
Along comes a handsome prince and all is lost. Because love so often comes on the back of desire. Anna found that she desired someone that she didn't love, but does love grow from desire? Without desire you simply have a best friend. With desire you have what we mostly believe of as love.
It's a complicated tale with not any easy answer. But it made for interesting viewing and was thought provoking about how we love and desire.
