Mac Eldridge and Tom Dean’s Charlie Harper begins with quite the evocative tone. Lush bokeh and neon bar lights fill the frame as the camera pans over to Harper (Emilia Jones). With actively forming tears in her eyes, she asks somebody off-screen if they’re a nostalgic person. Furthermore, she questions what purpose nostalgia even serves. It’s a poignant question to begin a romance film with, especially when it stars two cinematic heartthrobs. Yet it’s a question that is very much a product of the current cinematic landscape we find ourselves in. So much of contemporary big-budget cinema is actively grappling with nostalgia’s place in the minds of the audience. Some might argue we’re currently in the throes of a middle-ground being found, while others would argue the peak is only stretching further and further upward. Some would even say the peak is long behind us, and what we’re left with is the scraps of a mere blip in Hollywood history. This isn’t a film that has anything to do with the state of art or cinema, but nostalgia is inherently something that can be found in all walks of life. It is an integral part of our lives, whether we embrace it wholeheartedly, or we shove it in a box at the back of our closet with the hopes of forgetting it’s even there. Whether or not it serves a purpose is ultimately up to the individual. Charlie Harper presents its own take on this feeling that any audience member can relate to in some way or another.
The film kicks off after its introduction with an immensely charming meet-cute between Harper and Charlie (Nick Robinson). At least, that’s what Eldridge and Dean want their viewer to think. One of the many clever aspects of Dean’s script is how it subverts expectations through its non-linear structure. Turns out, the two knew each other from high school. This reconnection makes way for a lushly captured reminiscing of a life they might have once had. That so much of Charlie Harper presents itself in a reminiscence that never feels entirely grounded is another of its strengths. At one point, the film sort of resets itself in a very similar manner to Harper’s introduction of their past life, only now it’s from the lens of Charlie’s retelling. In each of their tellings, we are provided with such infinite possibilities of this romance. So much of it works due to Jones and Robinson. They have such lovely chemistry with one another, yet it never feels overtly cinematic. It can be a bit schmaltzy at times, but the two of them as a cinematic couple are great fun. Importantly, when we see their first actual date after high school, you can’t help but root for them. It’s a relationship that Eldridge and Dean have their audience embrace from the get-go, opting for a showcase of adorable young love where anything can happen. It’s only once life continues onward that the cracks begin to show.
As Charlie and Harper grow up alongside one another, we quickly begin to see where they refuse to grow. As the two dictate their memories of the relationship, it’s clear that their grand dreams weren’t fully panning out. Yet that didn’t stop them from living life with one another holding such joy. It’s a deeply endearing aspect of the film. To see Jones and Robinson play off one another with such silliness and love in both their hearts and eyes is touching. But Harper comes to the realization that they “might have been happier when they had nothing but each other.” It’s Eldridge and Dean’s unflinching co-directorial eyes which captures the frustrating moments these two share with one another. The honeymoon phase these two share does come to an end at some point. Perhaps it was never reality to begin with, but that doesn’t make it insignificant. Charlie dismisses many of the books he reads as being “dimestore novels… they’re escapist.” Nevertheless, the love he clearly has for them is both special and pure, and the same can be said for the early memories of the relationship these two share with one another. They may be a bit tinted with rose-colored glasses, but if those feelings were true and felt fully at the time, can we really be blamed for looking back on them so fondly?
Charlie Harper ultimately finds itself reckoning with the scrambled emotions of past and present colliding with one another. It’s equally interested in the versions of those stories we tell ourselves. We might see ourselves in a way that nobody else can. Unfortunately, that self-image can operate in both directions. It can hide a better version of ourselves, but it can also hide our worst aspects. While the climactic argument between Jones and Robinson may be clunky, and their resentment for one another’s worst qualities isn’t fully captured, it’s in the loss of the adoring and loving moments that causes such a sting. One of these countless moments is displayed through the two sharing burnt CD mixtapes with one another as a form of their crushes taking shape. This film is presented as a period piece (and the thought of 2009 being a period in and of itself is both alarming and wild), and it may feel like a strange choice at first. But there is an inherent tangibility to them sneaking CDs back and forth between one another. A quantifiable stack of CDs carries a palpable and meaningful emotion alongside each of them that creating a Spotify playlist could never fully capture. It’s beautiful and poetic, and the film innately understands how impactful it can be. But it’s also something that may need to be dealt with in the chance that the people they are linked to are no longer a part of our lives.
Eldridge and Dean eventually bring the film full circle back to our introductions of both Charlie and Harper. They then move the audience forward to see what comes next. It’s with this complete recontextualization of the film that allows for catharsis. It’s touching enough, and ends on a note that’s both ambiguous and poignant. Without revealing anything, Charlie Harper proves itself to not be a traditional romance in many ways. But it should be commended for the romance it so dearly holds and considers pure. Something or someone can mean so much to us in life, but one day those feelings and memories may become nothing more than broad strokes of emotion that hit us in the most random of ways. Whether it be a song we hear or a taste of food hitting our tongue, the things we’ve felt at some point in our lives can come flooding back to us. They may not physically be a part of our lives any longer, but they will always be there in our lives in some form. Hopefully we can all think back on those moments fondly and have a smile brought to our faces. Eldridge and Dean seem to have that same hope as well.
Charlie Harper is celebrating its World premiere in the Special Presentations category of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.