SPOILERS: This column contains spoilers for the film “The Map That Leads to You.”
Amazon Prime Video released its newest romance film, “The Map That Leads to You,” on Aug. 20. The movie centers around Heather (Madelyn Cline), Jack (KJ Apa) and their passionate romance as they explore Europe together. However, Jack is keeping a secret that threatens to tear their relationship apart.
While “The Map That Leads to You” has some good moments, I felt like the movie was entirely too predictable. The characters felt cliché, and the plot points were formulaic. I saw the ending, which played out like it was meant to be a big reveal, from a mile away.
The movie starts out by introducing Heather and her two friends, Amy (Madison Thompson) and Connie (Sofia Wylie), who embark on a postgrad girls trip abroad before Heather must fly back to New York City to start her new job at a bank. But it’s when the girls board the train to Barcelona and meet Jack that the story really begins.
Heather and Jack immediately hit it off in classic rom-com meet-cute fashion. Heather is neat, organized and has strict plans for her life, while Jack is casual, easy-going and doesn’t have anything tying him down. Despite the pair initially parting ways at the train station, they run into each other again at a party and quickly become inseparable.
It felt like most of the movie was just travel montages of the Spanish coast interspersed with a side plot following Connie falling in love with Jack’s friend, Raef (Orlando Norman). While the scenery was beautiful, the montages and side romance dragged on for too long and became boring.
As the two quickly fall in love, Jack convinces Heather to extend her trip and pursue their relationship. The two venture off on their own, visiting destinations that Jack’s great-grandfather wrote about in a journal that Jack kept to honor his memory.
The scenes that follow can be easily compared to your average rom-com. Cue more montages, romantic moments, deep conversations, an “I love you” confession and a dramatic fight about what their future will hold. Each plot point was formulaically placed to fit a 90-minute run time.
But my main issue with this film is the predictability of the main conflict. Throughout the movie, it is heavily hinted that Jack is sick and revealed later that his cancer has come back. Although not directly stated until the end of the film, he tells Heather early on he had a “health scare” in his past that made him want to travel more. However, he hides the seriousness of his illness from Heather and refuses to explain why he can’t commit to her, going so far as to ditch her at the airport right as they’re about to board a flight back to New York.
To me, the hidden illness trope is tired and overdone. It was also too obviously hinted at throughout the movie, from Jack’s refusal to join group photos with Heather to the “mysterious” phone calls he received from the hospital. Going into the film seeing positive reviews, I was hoping that it wouldn’t be another cookie-cutter romance drama, but, unfortunately, I was wrong.
The film concludes with Heather reading a note from Jack explaining why he ditched her in the airport. She notices a clue in the note that alludes to a festival the two had talked about going to together, so naturally, she immediately leaves her best friend’s wedding to go find the man that ghosted her. Their reunion in the streets of Santa Pau, Spain, lacked the emotion and depth that the movie was aiming for and felt more like a cheap knock off of “Me Before You,” a movie with a similar ending but executed far better.
Although the movie was predictable, it wasn’t terrible. Heather’s character in particular felt relatable and honest, and Cline’s acting was genuinely good. And, though it was predictable, Cline and Apa had an undeniable chemistry, which made the relationship buyable.
A standout part of the movie for me was the relationship between Heather and her father (Josh Lucas), who only wanted the best for his beloved daughter. Near the end of the film, the two share a heartfelt father-daughter conversation, which was touching and emotional. Even though Heather’s father does not get much screen time, he is a favorite character of mine.
If you are looking for an original, gripping romance, then “The Map That Leads to You” probably isn’t for you. However, if you are in the mood for an easy-to-watch, simple movie to put on in the background, I would give this film a chance.
