In You Do You, Merve, an aspiring fashion designer, struggles to land a job in the industry and must find a source of income after her father sells the building she lives in. The Turkish romantic comedy film is now streaming on Netflix.
Story
Merve Kult (Ahsen Eroğlu) dreams of working as a fashion designer but has a degree in finance and is unable to get opportunities in fashion. She lives with her mother, Nevra (Zuhal Olcay)
Her interviews do not go well and things get worse when she is told by her father that he has to sell the building they’re living in to pay off his debts.
This means that Merve and Nevra will be homeless unless they can find a source of income to rent a place.
Merve and her friends come up with the idea of a dating app called ‘Soulmates’, where the users interact behind masks to encourage meaningful connections.
They find an investor in Anil Gurman (Ozan Dolunay), a wealthy entrepreneur. But Merve does not realise that he is actually connected to her past which could derail everything.
Performances
Eroglu is a natural at playing the quirky Merve. She plays the character with authenticity and even though Merve is eccentric, it does not feel fake.
Dolunay is also decent as Anil. The two actors display the kind of chemistry that would have viewers rooting for them.
Olcay’s Nevra steals the show every time she is on the screen and the actor excels in her portrayal.
Positives
Although a rom-com, You Do You attempts to explore deeper concepts through its narrative. It’s not a simple guy meets girl storyline.
Anil’s actions are borne out of a past scar. There is nothing fateful about their enounter. In fact, Anil actually harbours hatred for her and seeks revenge.
This makes their interaction more interesting than usual cliched rom-coms that do not go beyond basic romance you’ve seen a million times.
The characters are intriguing. Merve, Anil and Nevra all have distinct personalities but blend together seamlessly.
Negatives
Despite the promising premise, the execution is lacking. The whole concept of the dating app is shoddy and forced into the narrative and it forms a rather large part of the movie.
The change in Anil’s perception of Merve could have been executed with a better plot point that would feel more nuanced.
Verdict
You Do You does a decent job of giving a fresh take to the over-utilised rom-com genre. But overall, the potential remains unfulfilled.
You Do You
Director: Cemal Alpan
Date Created: 2023-06-09 17:20
3
Also Read: Never Have I Ever season 4 review: Relatable narrative leads to a touching conclusion