365 Days. 365 Films.

Here, I was fully expecting a fluffy and light hearted romantic comedy filled with clichés and cringey, long-winded, supposedly romantic speeches. What I got was a deep and heartfelt story not so much about love but about life. Anne Hathaway plays Maggie Murdock, a woman suffering from young onset Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 26. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Jamie Randall, the hottest salesman at a local electronics store who, after being fired for sleeping with his bosses girlfriend, decides to embark on a career in pharmaceutical sales. Jamie is the type who sleeps around a lot, constantly figuring out smarter ways to get women into bed with him, but he meets his match when Maggie comes into his life. Meeting her at the hospital where she has come for more medication for her disease he quickly becomes interested in her because of her spunky attitude and her constantly rejecting him. Eventually they become a couple but Maggie is torn by her disease, feeling guilty about having Jamie have to support and tend to her when her sickness eventually takes hold of her.

This is a love story but more so it’s about what diseases like Parkinson’s can do to your life and the way you treat others around you. Maggie’s character is one which has been carefully scripted and Anne Hathaway makes the character feel so real that it’s difficult not to feel strongly toward her in every emotion that the director prompts. Jake Gyllenhaal also impresses, showing that he has come a long way since the beginning of his career and he is perfect in this film.

All in all this is definitely one to watch – it will make you laugh and cry and more importantly, it will make you think. It’s a slick and modern romantic comedy with more to offer the audience than any other film within the genre from what I’ve seen and it’s always a step ahead of you too.