Netflix's latest Valentine's Day offering, In Love All Over Again, premiered on February 14, 2023.
The Spanish-language drama follows a young film student and her actor friend going through the tumultuous film industry and an ongoing love affair that has almost too much drama.
This subtle and realistic love story from Carlos Montero had enough fodder to keep viewers entertained while telling a predictable but interesting story of two lovers.
While it is almost impossible to build a completely new film around love, given the stereotypes of the genre and the limitations of storytelling, In Love All Over Again had many fresh things to offer to viewers.
The European atmosphere and some great lead performances from Franco Masini and Georgina Amorós, who was also part of Netflix's hit Elite, gave In Love All Over Again a significant edge over other dramas of the same nature.
Clocking in at approximately 40 minutes to an hour, this eight-episode ride may not be the most perfect one, but it was fresh, engaging, and honest, which made it one of the standout romantic dramas of the year so far.
In Love All Over Again review: Inseparable love story with a modern edge
While two lovers coming back to each other time and again is hardly something fresh, courtesy of popular films like Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, this Netflix entry managed to break free of many of those stereotypes by putting it in a more modern setting. Again, this is not something new to the genre, but it hasn't still entered the done-to-death trope.
In Love All Over Again began with a young film school student, Irene (Georgina Amorós), and her eventual meeting with aspiring actor Julio (Franco Masini). The near-meta narrative of the series already indicated that this story will also be like most love stories of the time, with multiple breakups, patch-ups, and a lot of drama.
That is exactly what the series served. It had enough material to keep things interesting between Julio and Irene, and also managed to get the most out of other characters like Da (Carlos González) and Jimena (Blanca Martínez). The drama encompassed everything from friendship to love, to jealousy and hatred.
With the backdrop of the film industry, it added a very interesting layer that stood out in the crowd. The faltering emotions, the subtle jealousy of one doing much better than the other, and the complexity of human emotions were all well integrated into the nicely paced script.
Albert Salazer was one of the highlights of the series, having been a persistent and strong presence in all eight episodes. Georgina Amorós, who has also displayed her range and capabilities in Elite, seemed to do even better in In Love All Over Again.
One of the things that was very interesting about this series was that it covered a large time frame in a single season. This is not something that most romantic shows try to do. However, these sudden time jumps and new character positions certainly made things way more engaging in the long run.
The ending was also very well-thought-out with no reasonable conclusion or resolution.
All in all, In Love All Over Again is a good watch that will keep viewers hooked for a long time with no noticeable drawback.
All the episodes are now streaming on Netflix.