‘Promised Hearts’ (2025) Netflix Movie Review - A Dull Romantic Drama

Some love triangles are so bad they might as well be Bermuda Triangles. One of them can be found in Anggy Umbara's Promised Hearts / Setetes Embun Cinta Niyala. This Indonesian romantic drama is so bland that it makes an average Netflix show look like a passion project. While watching the film, the one question that keeps popping in your head is, "Why should I care?" Frankly, I don't have an answer, and the movie doesn't give you any good reason to care for its characters. They lack even an iota of wit, humor, or intelligence. All the actors do is speak their lines in a solemn, sad manner. Niyala (Beby Tsabina) is a doctor, Faiq (Deva Mahenra) studied something in Cairo (I don't remember), and Diah (Caitlin Halderman) is an expert in Islamic culture. And yet, these characters never talk about their education or profession - they don't seem to have any experience outside the boundaries of the screenplay. All they do is vomit lines that merely affect the drama at hand. Niyala loves Faiq. Faiq, however, loves Diah and considers Niyala to be his little sister. Then there is Roger (Dito Darmawan), who, as a child, used to bully Niyala but now, as an adult, is all gentle and kind. He wants to marry Niyala, or more accurately, Niyala is forced to marry Roger because her family is in debt (Roger's father is a loan shark, and since Niyala's family isn't able to pay him back, he orders them to give their daughter's hand in marriage).

This is all the information Promised Hearts provides to the audience. The rest of the film is filled with predictable scenarios that carry a melodramatic tone. This melodrama soon becomes monotonous. Oka Aurora's script, based on Habiburrahman El Shirazy's novel, is thin and simple-minded. Her characters have simple black-and-white shades, and they only move the story to its destination. The dialogues are neither dramatic nor illuminating any new facets. Everybody remains the same from the beginning to the end (Niyala's brother lets go of his jealousy, and Roger reveals his true colors in the end, but these changes are predictable and devoid of dramatic weight). Your ears get so tired of listening to all the unremarkable plot-related nonsense, you wish the movie had allowed you to listen to that dengue lecture. Umbara, meanwhile, maintains a soft, mushy mood to evoke tender feelings from the audience. He attacks your heart because he knows your brain will reject this hollow material. However, if you are sufficiently sophisticated, your heart will also kick out this artificially sentimental clinker. Umbara fails to infuse Promised Hearts with tension or suspense. Hell, there is no romance in the air - there is no chemistry between the actors. This boring love affair eventually becomes unintentionally humorous when an issue is resolved through a breast milk mix-up. I laughed in disbelief. Then I heaved a sigh of relief when the end credits started rolling.

Final Score- [1/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times