From casting choices to plot changes, it only takes one misstep in the book-to-film timeline to see BookTok erupt — so it’s a good thing the upcoming Colleen Hoover adaptation, Reminders Of Him, gets it oh so right.
The film’s lead Maika Monroe credits it, at least in part, to rich emotional writing of Hoover’s original text.
When sitting down with marie claire Australia to discuss the complex layers she explored and portrayed in the role of Kenna, Monroe says, “it was all there on the page”.
“We had an entire book to turn to,” she adds, emphasising just how true the cast and director Vanessa Caswill stayed to the story.
For those unfamiliar, the story centres on Kenna, after serving five years in prison for a fatal drunk-driving accident, returns to her boyfriend’s hometown with one goal — to win back custody of the daughter she’s never met — only to fall for his best friend.
That best friend, Ledger, is portrayed by Tyriq Withers, and his simmering tension with Monroe is the final piece in a perfect adaptation. The onscreen chemistry between the couple clearly stems from a great off-screen friendship – one the actors share was instantaneous.
“I got the role and immediately she was like ‘Let’s hang’,” Withers recalls, “we went to a concert… we just had a good time.
“Traveling together too, we were coming from LA to Calgary. I think that was fun, you know taking on the airport shenanigans. You shenan-a-once, you shenan-agains,” he jokes, to which Monroe (and I) immediately giggle. “She laughed at my corny jokes and I was like, ‘This is gonna be great’.”
The film marks a creative pivot for both actors, whose most recent roles have centred heavily in the thriller and horror genres, Monroe with Longlegs and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle and Withers in Him and the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel. It was a welcome change of pace, particularly for self-confessed rom-com lover Monroe.
“I loved it because I love romance movies. I love rom coms. I love rom drams,” she says before Withers quips with his signature sense of humour, “Rom-en noodles [ramen].”
Jokes aside, he adds that the romance genre comes with its own rewarding challenges: “I think, you know, this still is a challenge because you are living in the quiet softness of vulnerability. That change of pace is always nice. And I think we’re not defined by the type of movie – it’s a testament to both of our abilities to showcase the range.”
Reminders Of Him is in cinemas from Thursday March 12th.
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