Not your most typical romcom I must say! Shekhar Kapur’s new film starring Lily James (Zoe) and Shazad Latif (Kaz) among many others, has been branded as a ‘rom-com’. Despite the narrative containing the elements of love and comedy (obviously!), the scope and meaning of the genre are broadened and deepened by Kapur. In my mind, ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It?’ manages to branch away from the tiresome cliques that romcoms routinely assign themselves to and pivot around, such as the ‘love-struck and hopeless female lead’, the other ‘underwhelming female characters’, ‘the heroine who needs a man’ and the unrealistic representation of romantic life and all its pitfalls. You may argue, well that’s what the genre of romcom is based upon, it is a bit of light entertainment, and you may not take issue with such recurrent themes (especially surrounding female characters and representation). However, I find romcoms which play on these overused conventions rather tiresome, dull and rather bothersome. This new film provides a zesty flavour of a new kind of spin on the classic genre of romcom, and I like the taste…
I say I enjoyed the taste because in my opinion the female characters of the narrative, in particular, Zoe (Lily James) and Aisha Khan (Shabana Azmi) are individuals who are given the space to blossom and for the female experience to be explored. I am not saying that the film is perfect, and I do think that themes and issues that affect these female characters could have been dissected more in the script. But we do get a whole host of important concerns broadly in the domain of marriage, motherhood and womanhood given attention and consideration in this romcom, not particularly seen in other films.
One of the most unique and refreshing elements of the film is its attendance to South Asian culture and family, specifically Pakistani experience. Being a white woman, I will never be able to relate to the Pakistani experience presented on the screen. But I can appreciate the way in which the film and its diverse cast move away and present an alternative from the Western experience of love and life in romcoms (and other genres) on the big screen.
The primary way the film deals with this is through the discussion of arranged marriages, or as Kaz puts it, “Well, ‘assisted marriage’. That’s what we call it these days”. The narrative’s central concept of arranged marriage is given space to be explored and time to question archaic Western opinions on what an arranged marriage signifies and what it has evolved to in the modern day. In Kaz’s case, he chooses an arranged marriage as he trusts his family to find a partner, a person that will make him happy and vice versa. The film explores something different from the traditional ‘star-crossed lovers’ narrative. An alternate way of doing love is explored and left to be considered.
The film separates itself from the convention of romantic love in romcoms by portraying maternal love alongside romantic love, in the narrative, the meaning of ‘love’ is deepened to include other variations on the term. In turn, lightness and depth are added to the storyline as different strands of love are explored. The character of Aisha Khan (Kaz’s mother) is an exciting character that Kapur allows onto the screen. Despite being a traditional Pakistani woman having followed tradition, she is a woman capable of embracing tradition and modernity. She is another layered and complex female character who is a strong matriarch but equally tender, understanding and loving towards her children and family. It is refreshing to be introduced to a prevalent and strong Pakistani woman on the screen, whose love for her family shines throughout. The Pakistani female experience of love, family, marriage, motherhood and womanhood is explored through Aisha Khan. In my opinion for all women, Pakistani, South Asian and white Western women like me, this character provides immense interest.
I must say I enjoyed the space that Lily James was given in the character of Zoe. James manages to step away from the stereotypical and unfulfilling feminine roles, she has played many a time (in my opinion). The complexity of Zoe’s character is shown on the screen, she is unlike any other female rom-com protagonist I have seen. Zoe is a budding freelance documentary maker from London who is driven by her passion to film and capture voices and experiences for others. She is shown to be a female unfazed by the workplace barriers and sexism that successful and driven women experience. Modern womanhood is presented, and its entrails are confronted in a refreshing light through Zoe, through the way in which the film captures her dismay at romance in the modern age, with dating apps continually producing sleazy men. Additionally, Kapur explores the societal pressures of marriage and motherhood young women like Zoe are suddenly put under after their mid-twenties. As mentioned before, Zoe’s passion and focus on life is her profession and she is unsure if marriage is for her. However, the voice of her mother and others in the film serves as an embodiment of the attitudes and expectations society places on women, to be settled before your thirty with a husband, children and a home. But as Kapur denotes, this feminine ideal is harmful and damaging for women. Despite Zoe’s contentment with her life, opinions surrounding her lack of romantic love begin to weigh heavy making her question herself and how successful she is as a woman according to society’s guidelines.
She rather poignantly says to her mother “Am I just half a person when I’m not with a man? Is that what you think?”, this line was one that stuck with me after the film because of the truth it rang. Here, Kapur vocalises a whole host of important arguments around societal stereotyping, expectations and sexism thrown at women. Zoe defends her autonomy by unearthing her mother and society’s perception and control over women and their ability to live with societal interjection. Despite the line being a sad truth, I found it defiant and empowering, through her recognition of the ongoing patriarchy.
The two characters of Zoe and Aisha address motherhood and the difficulties of being a mother or wanting to be a mother. For Zoe, although she is not interested in a romantic relationship at present her maternal instincts to be a mother remain. In one scene she is seen at a fertility clinic inquiring about ‘egg freezing’. I found this a really important conversation and exploration of motherhood in the modern age, the film did not delve into this as much as I would have liked. Yet, it did consider and present on the screen a side of womanhood and motherhood rom-coms do not acknowledge, a more realistic imagining of being a woman.