First Love (I) (2022) User Reviews

15 minutes in, did Anna's mum just tell her to be a hoe?

[AfricanBro · 6/10 · 6 July 2022]

Anyway... the movie; I've never used wattpad but this is what I've always assumed it's like. The movie starts out alright, I didn't have any expectations going in. Nothing original but I like it for some reason, probably just because I love movies about love. About 15min in, Anna's mum tells Anna to be hoe, insinuates it at the least and repeats it later in the movie. That was my least favorite part of the film.

There's a story about love and another about family. More often than not movies tend to focus on the main protagonists' love interest while this focuses on everything else affecting it just as much. That was great but I think that's one of it's major drawbacks, it holds on to all these little subplots at the same time and that doesn't allow any of them to develop. So it has a good premise, but it's just lacking a little everywhere, melange of sort. We get the story, but I don't feel as invested as I should be with the characters because they lack depth.

Still have some feelings towards them though. I'm mostly mad at Anna's mum for the advice she gave, understood where she was coming from but could have been worded better, wouldn't have been as mad; sounds like that person who was hurt by or missed out on love so she doesn't want anyone else to enjoy it now, can't stand anyone having a good experience with it because she couldn't. I'm mad at Anna for listening, but she didn't know any better.

And I'm mad Jim for not forgetting about Anna(his friend's advice), but since when has forgetting your first love been easy🤷‍♂️. I'm all for hopeless love and lost causes but Jim's friend is the best bit of dialogue in the movie when he says "why get back into that? Lesson learned... we're young" just move on man. He did essentially gave him the same advice as Anna's mum, difference was Jim was already hurt and trying to get over it while Anna's mum's the one who led her to hurt Jim. I think the only reason I'm mad at Jim is I'd have done exactly what he did, picked up the phone, still in love with her.

There were so many moments in the second half of the movie where I thought the story was done but it kept going but the ending's worth it. For the most part, the movie's just alright, but the end tempts me to rate it slightly higher than it deserves, it's probably a 5/10. I think you need to already like these sorta movies for you to enjoy this one.

Jim saves the film

[Sharkgirl20 · 6/10 · 19 July 2022]

I love the character of Jim so much. Hero Fiennes Tiffin did a great portrayal of his character. I loved the dynamic between him and his parents on screen. The let down of the movie for me was the lack of chemistry between the two romantic leads. There was no spark or and Ann's character was pretty unlikeable and treated Jim poorly. It made you not want to see them end up together which impacted the enjoyment of the movie.

Something missing

[Lorena22 · 5/10 · 2 August 2022]

I'm a huge fan of the After series so when I heard Hero had a new movie out, I had to go and watch. Hero really carries this film and I was impressed with his range as an actor. Diane Kruger was fantastic as always. There was however something missing between the two romantic leads as others have pointed out. It's a shame the chemistry was lacking a little, but overall an enjoyable movie!

I am sad.

[lauramandruzzato · 2/10 · 22 August 2022]

You know when you spend all your day studing and after dinner you just want to watch a teenage-rom-com and go to bed??

Well, this is not the right movie. But I really don't know a right moment to watch it.

I don't want to be mean but I hated it.

I felt really embarassed for the actors in the "romantic" scenes.

2 stars only because Hero (Jim) is really handsome.

What did u Just watch

[anjamulder · 2/10 · 20 August 2022]

I love Hero and hé is the only reason i watchedthe movie till the end (did press ffw a few Times to get throug it ) there was no Sparks there was no real love feeling at all. The whole story was weird, time Line did not match up to anything i could not het the sense of anything it Just jumped from one thing to another... Mooi the after series are way beter. This was a waste of time.

Movie is more painful than childbirth

[amymartin-78536 · 1/10 · 26 August 2022]

Firstly I thought this movie was going to be the journey of Jim and Ann falling in love as the movie is called FIRST LOVE..

IT SHOULD BE RENAMED 'FIRST RECESSION' BECAUSE 85% OF THE MOVIE IS ABOUT JIMS PARENTS GOING BROKE FROM THE RECESSION!!

When it does cut to Jim and the 5 words he has in the whole movie, I cringe..the chemistry between him and Ann is so bad. There is more chemistry between Jack and the iceberg in the movie Titanic than there is with these two.

Jim was also on the brink of death for literally 3 minutes and then it was completely forgotten about!!!

A Story About Family

[RosesAreLilac · 7/10 · 19 June 2023]

More than a romance story this is a story about life's ups and downs, family, and people's personal growth journeys. I like that this movie doesn't stray from a realistic path. It's not overly emotional but puts emphasis on life's truly hard moments. The main perspectives are relationships- between husband and wife (and vaguely extended family), mother and son, and first loves.

There are some plot holes- where was the proposal, what was the note that Jim received when he was working? Some of the holes seem intentional to show the passing of time but I feel like filling out other details would have added more depth to the characters.

Overall a very solid story but I really think this storyline could have taken viewers many places and I wish we saw more character depth.

I also don't know if a younger audience would get much out of this. As someone almost to the middle of life I appreciate the wisdom but it lacks a spark, which life is also full of.

Don't even try to watch it.

[shaileshhhs · 1/10 · 23 August 2022]

It's waste of time. No feelings, everything is happening too fast. And the father: 1 year jobless: I was like whole the time, go suck your ego and wash dishes. I assume they tried to make a movie about emotions and love but that's exact thing missing. Stupid of me to give it a try.

Slightly Above Average

[januszlvii · 6/10 · 6 February 2024]

First Love is a slightly above average movie. It is about Jim ( Hero Fiennes Tiffin) and Ann ( Sydney Park) who are establishing their first love together. Obviously this is a "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back" movie. But what makes it different is the conflict is not because he did something wrong ( which happens far too often) or his parents are bigots ( he is white and she is black), but because of bad advice given by her mother ( she wants her daughter to use her body to get ahead, and because Jim's family is not wealthy ( because his father has not worked for two years), they are not good enough). Spoilers ahead: Jim is able in the end to win Ann, and marry her ( interesting to see the difference in reaction between Jim's mom ( happy for him) and Ann's mom ( not pleased) in the wedding chapel). I would have liked it more except for the cuts which are obvious to see. Finally it is slightly above average because of the happy ending which you get too few of these days. I give it 6/10 stars.

My eyes cry tears of regret

[ocisutiizdaice · 1/10 · 5 October 2022]

What did I just watch? All I wanted was a rom com to make me feel young and in love again and I got a movie about financial struggles. The movie wasn't even based around the teens in love. It was about the parents struggle financially.

I'm sad. I have so many regrets picking this but too late.. the After movies were full of love and heartbreak and emotions and this movie was full of nothing really. Can't honestly tell you what happened in most of the movie. The whole beginning is forgotten cause of the horrible middle and end..

Save yourself so much regret and watch like the news or something.

Realistic love story

[mgitts1977 · 8/10 · 25 December 2022]

This was a story about true love through the eyes of normal people. No frills, no fluff, no ridiculous outlandish gestures or circumstance.

It was a love story of not only the young couple, but of the parents as well.... It felt realistic, like this is the "ordinary person's" love story.... It felt believable.

If you are a true romantic, and believe in love, it really is worth the watch.

I think we have gotten so accustomed to these over the top, unrealistic love stories, that we forget that the average Joe & Jane, who are not well off, millionaires, or overly successful professionals meet and fall in love too!

This movie is simple, it's pure and a ticks a lot of the boxes for the hopeless romantic in us.

Watch it, and remember that love can be simple, easy and survivable through the trials/setbacks that come!

A Total Drag

[dfreyberg_rocks · 2/10 · 7 October 2022]

I gave this movie a chance because I liked the look of the poster/cover art, and having Hero in it, I thought it would be something I could get into since he's a good and well-known actor.

What followed was a total snoozsfest; this movie doesn't have heart, it all looks very rigid and forced. It's easily forgettable, not to mention a slow burn that never delivers. On the grand scale of cinematic pieces, it's very substandard, using recycled storylines and clichés we've all seen a thousand times. Don't watch it - you won't get those 2 hours of your life back.

Perhaps the only good aspect of this film was Hero.

Definitely a higher quality teen drama romance than the After film series, but doesn't stand out much on its own

[ambusched94 · 4/10 · 23 August 2022]

Hero Fiennes Tiffin was unexpectedly great as Jim, a lone wolf teenager who falls hard for his classmate, Ann. He has apparent acting range, which is hardly seen in the After film series. The chemistry is palpable between Tiffin and Sydney Park. It was unique to have the gender roles switched where the girl isn't looking for something serious long term but is uncertain and afraid to admit she has developed feelings past surface-level hookups. I also did not realize the main character's parents would be heavily focused upon in the storyline, almost like they were they were the main characters and their son, Jim, was the supporting character in the film at some points. Their marriage and first love with each other is juxtaposed with Jim and Ann's blossoming romance.

A passable ending; the screenwriters should not have added the wedding/wedding reception. Since, it's obvious the two lovers are headed that path, but maybe flash forward to the epilogue where the main characters are immersed in their marriage life and so forth.

First Love is worth a one-time viewing. I literally watched this for Tiffin and his performance did not disappoint. The rest of the story and supporting performances are decent enough. First Love is one of the many stock teen drama romances they churn out every year on Netflix and other streaming services, so it's quite hum drum for the most part but watchable. Really slow moving at times, so if you don't have the patience for a leisurely drama romance, just skip it.

Not Parents!?!?

[hjtphmfc · 3/10 · 14 November 2022]

I went into this movie thinking i'd be watching a young love film and I'm watching way more of Jim's parents storyline and it was EXTREMELY boring. This movie was decent but I could have absolutely done without the parents storyline.

The angst with the young people and their whole love story is usurped by these boring parents. This movie has some tricky marketing making us think it's young love but it's more about this kids parents.

It's actually pretty upsetting because the two young stars have lots of chemistry. The young girl Ann was giving all of the teenage coming of age blossoming and the young guy was very cute and very in love and I was wanting more of them.

If someone cut all the parts with his parents out of the movie we probably got 30 mins of a very nice young love story.

Meh

[jvarney-97422 · 5/10 · 13 November 2022]

The reviews for this are absolutely terrible. I think everyone is a bit dramatic saying it's "a waste of 2 hours" but maybe I've just seen a lot of really bad movies and this one really wasn't the worst. It was not really about love it was about dealing with financial issues and the toll it takes on a family, So it is very misleading to call it "first love". The acting was just ok and I felt no desire for the watered down love story they portrayed to have a happy ending. There were many characters like the aunt and the brother who were in the movie for a few seconds or minutes and added absolutely nothing. It definitely didn't have anything special about it. A fairly forgettable movie.

Hero is great, everything else is not so much.

[lkamins · 5/10 · 20 December 2022]

This movie is a mix of two story lines that don't really fit together in my opinion. There is a story about the parents marriage and financial stress and Jim's story that while connected feel too different to be in the same movie. I think they should've chosen to either tell the parents story or Jim's in more detail, not both superficially in one film. The stuff with his parents dragged on, very dry and there was no chemistry. The Jim character seemed like a very sweet charming guy and Hero did a wonderful job portraying him. But then Ann character was superficial and unlikable, her mom was just awful. Their story gave me 500 days of summer vibes but it just needed more. If you cut out the parents story and focus on Jim and Ann, what happened in college? Show their growing up and maturing, Ann becoming a better person possibly...or maybe Jim meeting someone who values/is worthy of him?...just more development. There was no resolution really. It would have been better with more and that's kind of what was expected based on the trailer. Hero was the best performance in the film by far. He really carried the movie.

How short was the script?

[nishrahman · 1/10 · 29 September 2022]

I wanted to watch this movie because Hero was in it, I thought it would be good. I was wrong. I'm 45 minutes in and I don't even know what's going on. It literally jumps from one scene to another, and another, with hardly any dialogue.

It actually could've been a good movie if they spent less time moving the cameras around to different locations and actually focussed on the chemistry and love story between the two characters.

Also, there are so many scenes without the main characters. What's the point of this?

Anyway, don't bother watching it. Even the acting was terrible. Only good thing was Hero - even if he does have a bad fake American accent.

Honestly Beautiful Family That Really Love Each Other

[corlaw · 9/10 · 7 June 2023]

If you're looking for a hot young adult romance, this is not your movie. If you look at this as a family drama surrounding unemployment, illness, and the heartbreak of first real love, it's really solid.

Jeffrey Donovan's portrayal of the despair of unemployment, underemployment and the damage it does to self worth and marriage, is spot on.

Watching Ann succumb to pressure from her mother to play the field is heartbreaking but I can completely understand her mother. She wants her daughter to have everything in life.

This is a tender vision of the value of really loving family and a testament to their importance.it's also a beautiful depiction of faith. Hero's portrayal of Jim is fantastic.

I should have watched Ladybird or CMBYN instead

[hawadiallo-39203 · 1/10 · 9 September 2022]

Sooo Hero's american accent is bad, but still better than his british accent also The lighting and camera is kinda like CMBYN (The light blue filter thing, but not like Twilight tho), and the music is like classical / calm piano and instrumental, like they're trying to be more than just a " dumb teen romance" but it's kinda off because the acting/script/content of the movie doesn't align with the lighting/music/camera It's got a fast timeline, like 6 months have passed in 45 minutes, I don't care about the parents' life that much and idk the movie is just trying too hard to be deep or emotional it feels forced.

The girl is pretty though haha, i guess it was the only positive thing, and i like her voice.

Honestly

[yaurynatalifranco · 3/10 · 26 July 2023]

What took me back the most & kind of uncomfortable is hearing her parent say the things she said to her, it was weird & the complete opposite of what any level headed or sane parent would say so it made the rest of the movie weird af...parent is supposed to protect u & care for u not do the opposite & do the most it's weird! Am I the only one who felt uncomfortable about this? Nothing to do with my generation but all to do with your parents being your protectors not pushing u to potential dangerous situations. Sucks to have parents or parent like that because they will be your worse enemy...just my opinion.

Don't waste your time!!!

[hilaavlas-20263 · 1/10 · 6 October 2022]

I just made this IMDB account to say this might be the worst movie I've seen in a while.

Don't waste your time.

This movie is definitely not about a "First Love".

So many plot holes.

1. We don't get to know why are the two characters together as a couple? Why do they love each other? Zero chemistry between them! And boop - there's a wedding and the movie ends, leaving the viewer with zero feelings.

2. Also, we don't get the connection between Jim's parents issues and himself. Half of the movie is about the parents!

3. Is it possible the mom killed the aunt just for money?

4. The actors are good. Production is bad.

Waste of time and money!

Hmm

[tanieshajones · 5/10 · 16 November 2022]

I kept waiting for more character development, but I never happened. The two young couples acting was cute but there "love story" took place between 2 scenes and bam "I love you" we don't get to see more into who they are as a couple. The character Jim had some development his character was kind and a romantic and intense. The parents portrayal was very accurate and can resonate with a lot of people. This would be a 10 if it wasn't so rushed. The actor Hero was actually really good his stares alone feel like he's looking at you lol you see this sweetness in his character. I wanted to know more about his love interest.

Loses its stamina pretty quickly.

[phoebecraighill · 5/10 · 6 September 2022]

The film's opening scenes are really good. They set out what could be a dramatic masterpiece with a perfectly stylistic setting. Then Diane Kruger leads the way and you're thinking "wow this could seriously be good, i didn't anticipate this from the film poster" and then "could this be Hero Fiennes Tiffin's revival in the romance genre? No more of After's blatant toxicity - now we get to see a good and pure relationship, right?". Well, apparently when you strip back the constant arguments, insecurity and deception (referring Tessa and Hardin of course) we have a boring picture left to doze off to. Too simple, too tame maybe. It was great to see the dichotomy between the problems faced by the older and younger generations: finance/work vs love and then love being corrupted by finance etc. But I think it took so much out of Jim and Ann's relationship and characters that it made them too implausible; 2 years go by and barely anything happened in their romantic/sex lives whilst both are in college, seriously? That's just my opinion of course. I am just disappointed, plain and simple...like this film.

Anthology/Slice of Life Film

[welzwedding · 8/10 · 23 November 2022]

Hear me out- if you acknowledge it for what it is intended to be- I feel it is extremely well executed. It is set after the 2008 recession, so while the viewer is experiencing the highs and lows of the main character, Jim, falling in love for the first time, they are also getting a glimpse into his parents lives and the struggles and sacrifices many people faced at that time.

Yes- it was super frustrating to see the father jobless for two years, picking fights with his wife, and not helping out around the house- but that is what DEPRESSION is. It's real. It is unfortunately not uncommon, and those characteristics and behaviors are very common in those situations, especially after being the bread winner for a family and then losing that job, identity, and income.

The only thing I will admit I didn't love was the random bits of religion added to the plot. I felt it was unnecessary to the story line or character development. Why show devout Catholics who's son then has premarital sex with zero guilt from being raised in the church? Or maybe not guilt, but some type of connection to this seemingly important faith element in his life having an influence to his intimate relationship. But maybe that's just me.

Overall I felt it was a relaxing, pleasant watch and I quite enjoyed it. I am glad I gave it a shot before I read the reviews.