Review: Love Me (now on Binge)
I finished watching Love Me on Binge—the streaming service everyone downloaded for Euphoria—and the show has left a damming impression on me.
Directed by Melbournian Emma Freeman, the show is based inner-city north side of Melbourne. Many scenes are beautifully filmed inside heritage-listed Victorian Terrace houses and nostalgic Brunswick coffee shops we all know and take for granted. I was humbled to see Melbourne’s historic yet hipster vibes being encapsulated with the class and sophistication it deserves. Most importantly, the show captures scenes at yours truly, Uni Melb, showing off the Old Quad and Elizabeth Murdoch building (very proud).
In terms of the plot, I have not watched anything in the past few years that has intertwined feelings of grief and love so seamlessly. It is done so artfully that anyone could enjoy to at least one element of the show, whether that be characters, themes or scenery.
Essentially, the show is about love. What on earth is love? Do we even need love? Where do we put love after death? How much does love matter when our values are compromised? Freeman’s key message was that being in love and entering into a relationship is a beautiful and natural part of life. However, love should not be placed on any pedestal. Love requires hard work, bravery, and vulnerability. Nonetheless, we as humans, must take this risk, accept the possibility that love may lead to loss and go for it. Life is far too short.
We see Clara, a 30-year-old successful anaesthetist in the prime years of her career, struggle to find a partner. She balances the feelings of losing her mother with online and in-person dating and eventually the struggle of letting herself go and falling in love with someone unexpectedly.
We also watch her younger brother Aaron, a student at Melbourne Law School, be sure of his love for DJ girlfriend Ella, yet struggle to find a middle ground in their relationship. Despite physical attraction and chemistry between the two, their lives are simply not compatible. Sometimes what we think is love just isn’t enough.
Lastly, the star of the show, Hugo Weaving is shown moving on from the death of his co-dependent wife, finding new love and trying to maintain family connectedness. Weaving’s disconnected character journey takes us through the unflattering different stages of grief. Just when we think we are okay, grief hits us in the face and takes us back to where we started in the times that we least expect. Weaving’s sheer talent really shines through because, believe me, it takes a lot for a TV show to make me laugh and cry in the one episode.
If I haven’t persuaded you yet, I think the show can do that for you. Grab some popcorn, kick your feet up after a long day of studying, and go watch this art piece of a show (and thank me later).