Regretting You Movie Review: A Safe, Middling Adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Novel

Regretting You, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s novel and directed by Josh Boone, arrives in theatres with high expectations, but ultimately delivers a cautious, emotionally muted experience. While the film remains faithful to the source material, it misses the raw intensity that makes Hoover’s writing resonate with readers.

Set in a small North Carolina town, the story follows Morgan (Allison Williams) and her teenage daughter Clara (McKenna Grace) as they navigate grief, betrayal, and the challenges of moving on. The narrative also explores Morgan’s teenage love triangle involving Chris (Scott Eastwood), Jonah (Dave Franco), and her late sister Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald), alongside Clara’s own coming-of-age story with her crush Miller (Mason Thames). Despite a rich emotional landscape—grief, guilt, generational tension, and rediscovered love—the film rarely delves beneath the surface.

Boone, who previously handled heartbreak effectively in The Fault in Our Stars, struggles here with uneven pacing and restrained direction. Moments with the potential for real emotional impact pass too quickly, while others linger with little payoff. The adult performances, particularly Williams and Franco, lack convincing chemistry, leaving key relationship dynamics feeling polite rather than raw or intense.

The film’s saving grace is McKenna Grace. As Clara, she delivers authenticity, capturing teenage confusion, grief, and rebellion with remarkable subtlety. Her scenes with Mason Thames provide some of the few genuine emotional beats, showcasing her ability to balance vulnerability and resilience.

Visually, Regretting You offers competent cinematography, more suited to streaming than a theatrical release. Boone’s direction is cautious, sitting in an uncomfortable middle ground—too muted to truly move audiences, yet too polished to create lasting tension. Several moments, like Morgan trashing her husband’s car or Clara confronting her father’s affair, hint at the film’s potential but are fleeting.

Overall, Regretting You is a safe, well-intentioned adaptation that sanitises much of the novel’s emotional grit. Fans of Hoover may appreciate the familiarity, but the film falls short of the immersive, all-encompassing emotional experience that defines her work.

Rating: 2.5/5

Regretting You is now showing in Indian theatres.