Regretting You – “grief, betrayal and healing”

By: Kaitlyn Belile, Assistant Features Editor 

This past weekend, I went to see “Regretting You,” the movie adaptation of the book by Colleen Hoover. While I do not agree with a lot of Hoover’s actions, I had read the book a long time ago and was invited by a friend to see the movie. 

I have seen not-so-mixed reviews (most are bad), but I personally appreciate the way that this movie ties together grief, betrayal and healing. As someone who has experienced a profound amount of grief, I like movies that represent the feelings that follow losing someone you love. 

The story follows a mother, Morgan Grant – played by Allison Williams – and the strained relationship she has with her daughter, Clara Grant, played by Mckenna Grace. Clara is 17 years old and experiencing the obvious teenage angst, but then adds in romance and grief that she experiences when her father, Chris, and Aunt Jenny pass away in a car accident together. This accident leads to the discovery that Chris and Jenny were having an affair for an extended amount of time. Obviously this is an extremely unexpected and difficult event to navigate for Morgan, Jenny’s fiancee, Jonah and Clara. 

One aspect of the movie that I really enjoyed was the soundtrack. My top songs from the movie were: “When You Were Young” by The Killers, “Writing’s On The Wall” by Role Model, “Everywhere, Everything” by Noah Kahan featuring Gracie Abrams and “Chesapeake” by Better Oblivion Community Center. The Better Oblivion Community Center is a band featuring Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, and I hadn’t heard of the song before the movie or knew this band even existed, and hearing Phoebe Bridgers always brings a sense of excitement to me. I also hadn’t known “Writing’s On The Wall” before the movie, but it is currently my favorite song! 

Something that I enjoyed about going to see this movie was not even about the movie, but the environment in the theater. Most of the audience consisted of women, which is something that I love, because it is a freeing experience most of the time. This group of women was so vocal about the movie, and during the surprising and funny parts of the movie, they were voicing their enjoyment. But they also respected the more mellow scenes, where grief was present, and it was silent in that room. I love that we all were able to experience the movie in a physical way and not just watching a screen. 

The grief was so obvious in certain parts of the movie, but there were also times where it was humorous and people that might not have understood grief might have thought that they had just forgotten or weren’t sad anymore, but that is not true. Sometimes grief looks like a quiet moment while simply reflecting, and others it is a big moment full of feelings that may be hard to explain. Losing somebody that you love changes everything about you. Your outlook and mindset change the second that you experience the sense of loss that grief provides. 

This experience also reminded me of the first time I experienced the “Barbie” movie. That movie was a turning point in my life because it reminded me of how far women have come in the world. The movie was incredible, but so was the entire experience of seeing the movie. I saw the movie with my best friend and after the movie ended, there were these two women hugging and immediately my best friend and I looked at each other and it was a life-changing experience. The way that these women finally got a movie that truly showed the way that women have had to exist was inspiring to witness.

via Sophie Asher