Review by Lisa Payne
The opening scene of The Aussie film I Met A Girl is charming, and a little off. Devon (Brenton Thwaites) is practicing his speech for his brother, Nick’s (Joel Jackson) wedding to Olivia (Zahra Newman). It doesn’t quite go to plan. Cue mom and Nick talking about who will take Devon back to the hospital as if he’s not there. Devon pleads to sing the song he wrote for Nick and Olivia. It’s all very cutesy until we get our first glimpse of Devon’s schizophrenia in action. I found it quite shocking.
Devon has two voices in his head who literally drive him to attempt suicide. He wakes up in the bathtub at Lucy’s (Lily Sullivan) flat. She is very direct in her questioning of Devon then asks him what he wants right now. Lucy and Devon then proceed to have a lovely meal. Lucy appears to have a way of calming Devon.
When she doesn’t show up to a dinner with Devon and Nick, Devon is beside himself with worry and vows to find Lucy. He sets off on a cross-Australia journey accompanied by his guitar to find his true love. There are adventures along the way, with the constant of Devon being “chased” by his voices.
The leads in I Met A Girl are appealing, and in rom-coms, love can conquer all. The trick is to not use mental illness as the crutch or the cure-all.
