“Picture This” released globally on Prime Video March 6th, and has spent every day in the top 10 ever since. It is no wonder, because this film isn’t your normal telling of a romance within the genre. Although the film is predictable in where it’s going to take us and inconsistent at times with the logistics, the director, Prarthana Mohan, takes a different approach in how to portray the lead female in a romantic comedy. This British film revolves directly around Pia, played by Simone Ashley (“Bridgerton”), and her self-discovery rather than the search for love itself.
Based on the Australian film “Five Blind Dates" by Shawn Seet, Nathan Ramos-Park, and Shuang Hu, this rom-com follows Pia, a talented photographer, who is driven by her dream of running a portrait studio in honor of her late grandmother. Along with her best friend Jay (Luke Fetherston), together they opened 9th Mandala. The movie starts with the two struggling to keep up with bills as their business heads to the ground. Although Pia’s mom, played by Sindhu Vee, has expensive jewelry saved for her daughter, Pia can only get her hands on them to save her dream if she gets married. The problem is, Pia is already a self-assured 30-year-old and thrives off of her independence.
The story adds more twists with Pia’s younger sister Sonal (Anoushka Chadha) getting married, making Pia the maid of honor and Pia’s ex, Hero Fiennes Tiffin (“After”) as Charlie, being the best man. In preparation for the wedding, a spiritual medium visits Sonal and her husband with the rest of the family present to read Sonal’s astrology chart to foresee her future. This medium winds up reading Pia’s future, despite her disbelief in astrology, and announces that in five dates, she will meet her soulmate. With the question of love swirling in the air, Pia’s family each pick out dates for her to pursue.
Through the story’s unfolding and discoveries, the film cleverly uses vertical and horizontal screen splits to match the main character’s aesthetics and photography skills. In the film, Pia explains that she “draws out honest reactions” to create her authentic portraits of people. Mohan uses Pia’s photography method to mirror the eyes of a photographer, making the screen splits look like visual portraits.
What is unique about this rom-com is that instead of looking through the lens of a woman going on these dates with a hopeful need for a companion, we are looking through the lens of a woman who pushes love out of the narrative for herself. Pia even states this at the beginning of the film, insisting she “never wants to get married” and “doesn’t need a man to complete her”. Pia is focused, confident, and comfortable with the life she has built for herself. These characteristics are explored as we see the love and care she puts into her studio and the pride she takes in talking about her passion for photography. However, we also see the image of glamour she blankets over her sense of loneliness, and even lying about the success of her business to her family.
Showcasing this duality is essential in feeling the weight Pia carries to be successful on her own and to feel her hidden fear of failure. Her stubbornness and defensive nature keep her from asking for help, while also keeping love out of the picture, afraid of getting hurt again. When Charlie shows up after years of not speaking to each other since their break up, her first-love butterflies respark when catching up with him and reminiscing about their relationship. These feelings challenge Pia’s intent on being happily single. Director Mohan chooses to focus the narrative on these emotional conflicts and journey of the female lead’s character arc as she learns to let go of her hyper-independence and to let love in.
“Picture This” might fall short in some areas, but it is filled with vivid colors, light-hearted fun, and charming charisma.
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