‘The Heartbreak Agency’ Netflix Movie Review - A Rom-Com that is Neither Funny Nor Romantic

Some of the problems I had with Kill Me If You Dare popped up again while I was watching The Heartbreak Agency. Both movies have a flimsy plot that simply serves as an excuse to showcase beautiful locations. The characters themselves are blank and function like puppets. Even with the help of a microscope, you wouldn't be able to find a trace of a single genuine emotion in any frame. It's absurd that the two films were released on Netflix during Valentine's week, probably because some men in suits think these stories are perfect for young lovers who want to spend their time in the company of movie romance. I won't even dare to show either The Heartbreak Agency or Kill Me If You Dare to any couple on a normal day, let alone on Valentine's Day. These films carry a contempt for the audience, as they have the audacity to sell such lazy, soulless stories as "romance." They don't think the viewers deserve better.

The strength of a rom-com (at least a significant portion of it) lies in the chemistry displayed by the main characters. Both The Heartbreak Agency and Kill Me If You Dare have actors who merely make "cute faces." We never believe that the lovers are in each other's proximity, that they are occupying the same frame. You sense a vast distance between them - a flaw no one bothered to correct during the shooting process. Still, if I have to choose between the two (and I would rather not), I would pick Kill Me If You Dare over this Shirel Peleg romance. That Filip Zylber movie is so stupid it easily leaves your head. The Heartbreak Agency, on the other hand, irritates you so much with its clichés that you find yourself pulling your hair out in frustration long after the movie ends.

Karl (Laurence Rupp), a writer at Splash Magazine, hates Maria (Rosalie Thomass), a therapist because he thinks she is the reason his girlfriend broke up with him. He writes a sexist article for revenge, but his plan backfires as his boss fires him from the office. When Karl finds no luck getting a job elsewhere, he begs his boss to take him back. One thing leads to another, and soon, Karl signs up to get full therapy from Maria, who runs the titular agency dealing with heartbreak.

Now you know the drill. Karl and Maria hate one another initially. She doesn't like him dispensing advice to other lovelorn clients. He cannot digest the kind of activities he is made to do during the therapy. At one point in the film, Karl and Maria agree that sunsets are unnecessarily romanticized. Nonetheless, one of them is seen admiring the sunset at a later point. It's inevitable, really. Characters who can't stand each other gradually fall for each other. Where have I seen this formula before? But the issue here is not just this formula. What's aggravating is that the commitment to this cliché is sorely half-hearted. There is no passion or even a faint spark in this romance. Everything happens on autopilot.

I can pinpoint the exact moment in The Heartbreak Agency where it becomes frustrating, so much so that it begins to test your patience. It's when Karl goes to Maria's apartment with flowers and runs into her ex-husband. I dislike it when characters refuse to communicate with each other and let misunderstandings create a distance between them. The Heartbreak Agency doesn't use this plot device in any meaningful way. Instead, it lazily exploits it to create a...heartbreak. The side characters in the movie are also poorly developed. Karl's roommate has his own love problems, but the film barely acknowledges them. Turgay interrupts his lover's wedding to win her back, only to break up with her later. The reasons behind his change of heart are never explained. Frankly, I don't even care about the answers. I just want to forget this movie altogether.

Final Score- [2/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times