| Director | Recai Karagöz |
| Writers | Pelin Karamehmetoğlu, Recai Karagöz |
| Cast | Birkan Sokullu, Esra Bilgiç, Ushan Çakir, Hakan Ummak |
| Runtime | 99 minutes |
| Native Title | Romantik Hirsiz |
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Romance |
– No Spoilers –
There’s something about a scorned lover that you really want to get behind. Alin, a policeman working in Interpol’s Art Crime Unit, is tasked to go after her billionaire ex-fiance Güney, who turns out to be an art thief who steals paintings from around the world. Hot on his trail, Alin decides to apprehend the man who is not only a thief but who has already betrayed her in the worst way possible.
Visually stunning and taking place in some of the most beautiful places in the world, Art of Love has its charms and it doesn’t hurt that we get to follow a policeman with a sad past who gets to exact revenge. It’s those spicy aspirational movies with little to lose and thus go all out with the beautiful sceneries and a stunning cast but little substance. In its favour, the movie is very fast-paced and things just keep on happening one after another without a break. You don’t get to ever think about the lapses of judgment or logic because you’re busy following the next thread.
The storyline is cliched and stale and you know exactly what is about to happen as soon as you get the background. Things don’t stray from that fixed storyline too much and thus this never really becomes that thrilling ride that you expect it to become. However, the ever-present background score really tries hard to fill us with dread and anticipation throughout its runtime and lets us know exactly what to feel and when.
Plus, the heist sequences are also not quite thrilling and are over before they start. The bland storytelling during these parts is a little annoying because it makes you wonder what this movie is, a romance or a heist drama, because it doesn’t do either too well. The glaring plot holes don’t add to the mystery or the thrill and make you question your sanity as things never really fall into place. The exposition dumps make things slow and unimpressive and test your patience.
I was the most interested in Alin’s tumultuous mental state as she finds herself falling for her ex while burning with the desire to apprehend the thief. The beautiful Esra Bilgiç plays her well and we feel her passionate hate for Güney through the screen. On the other hand, Birkan Sokullu looks suave as the billionaire art thief although I didn’t feel much of a chemistry between the actors most times.
Unfortunately, that’s also because of the story. You don’t have enough to want these two to end up together. Sure, they are exes but there’s hardly anything for us to root for them. The past love doesn’t come to us because it is hardly shown or contextualised. In the present as well, you don’t see them gravitate towards each other and the fact that she was ghosted also puts you off from wanting them together. Of course, it would’ve helped if we saw their connection, but that’s also not overtly palpable.
Art of Love Review: Conclusion
Movies like these are oftentimes a recipe for just a good and forgettable time to take a break from something strenuous. It’s also fun to keep on in the background. Unfortunately, Art of Love isn’t anything more than that and is a boring addition to the genre that doesn’t make your heart soar, neither does it make you sweat from stress over the heists. It’s blandly somewhere in between and is thus skippable.
Art of Love is streaming on Netflix.
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