Pain With the Edges Filed Down

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MOVIE REVIEWS
Regretting You
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Genre: Drama, Romance
Year Released: 2025, 2026
Runtime: 1h 56m
Director(s): Josh Boone
Writer(s): Susan McMartin (screenplay), based on the novel by Colleen Hoover
Cast: Allison Williams, Mckenna Grace, Dave Franco, Mason Thames, Scott Eastwood, Willa Fitzgerald, Clancy Brown
Where to Watch: available now, order your copy here: www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: There’s a version of this story that could have left permanent bruises on your heart. REGRETTING YOU flirts with that version, but unfortunately never commits to it. Adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel and directed by Josh Boone, the film centers on Morgan Grant and her teenage daughter, Clara, after a devastating accident exposes not just loss, but betrayal. The premise promises emotional chaos. What we get instead is something far more controlled.

Allison Williams plays Morgan as a woman suspended between resentment and restraint. She married young, sacrificed her ambitions, and now finds herself grieving both a husband and the illusion of the life she thought she had locked down. Williams does what she can within the boundaries set by the script. She communicates exhaustion and confusion well, but the film rarely allows her to spiral in a way that feels raw. The grief is present, but it’s managed. While I haven’t read the book, I like to think that there’s more to those moments that weren’t shown on screen.

Mckenna Grace carries much of the emotion with her portrayal of Clara. Her volatility as a teenager going through it feels real, especially in scenes where mother and daughter clash. There’s a believable friction in their relationship, and the film is strongest when it narrows its focus to that dynamic. Clara’s confusion isn’t just about losing her father. It’s about discovering that the adults she trusted weren’t who she thought they were. Grace finds moments of genuine vulnerability, even when the script leans toward melodrama.

The supporting performances create mixed results. Mason Thames brings a grounded presence to Miller, giving the teen romance a softness that doesn’t feel manufactured. Dave Franco’s Jonah exists largely as a counterbalance to Morgan’s emotional paralysis, but the chemistry feels more circumstantial than inevitable. Their connection seems built on shared grief more than compatibility, and the film never examines that distinction.

Josh Boone approaches the material with an almost guarded hand. The style is consistent, often framing moments of emotional upheaval in warm light and controlled compositions. Technically, the film looks good. But that aesthetic polish becomes part of the issue. The story revolves around infidelity, death, and generational trauma. It rarely feels as volatile as those themes demand. It feels like a darker, deeper story, wrapped in a tween drama.

One of the central issues lies in how the film handles betrayal. The revelation that Morgan’s husband and sister were involved is massive. It should absolutely flip the narrative and break it. Instead, the fallout feels muted. Anger sparks but doesn’t burn. Confrontations are brief and measured. Even when secrets surface, the emotional aftermath resolves quickly. For a story built on long-buried truths, the consequences don’t linger long enough.

The mother-daughter arc remains the most compelling thread. REGRETTING YOU does understand how miscommunication can harden into distance. There’s a quiet honesty in how both Morgan and Clara weaponize silence. They love each other deeply, but they’re also mirrors of each other’s unresolved choices. When the film slows down and lets them occupy the same emotional space, it works. I don’t want my review to feel like it’s trashing the film, because it's not; I just wanted something more, and that’s likely from a selfish perspective.

Its broader ambition in tone is an interesting exploration; it wants to be a sweeping romantic drama, a coming-of-age story, and a meditation on forgiveness. That combination isn’t impossible, but here it makes it feel like we don’t know where the focus is. The romantic developments feel fast-paced. The grief feels compressed. The resolution arrives neatly, almost too perfectly.

There’s also a sense that the script avoids its own darker implications. A teenage pregnancy, suppressed ambition, years of resentment, and a double betrayal should create volatile terrain. Instead, the narrative chooses decorum over disruption. That restraint might appeal to audiences seeking a cathartic yet gentle experience. For viewers wanting something more confrontational, it can feel underwhelming. The film definitely isn’t without merit. It’s accessible. It’s sincere. It treats its characters with empathy, even when their choices are flawed. And for fans of Hoover’s work, the adaptation remains largely faithful in spirit, if not in depth. There’s comfort in the familiarity of its arc.

REGRETTING YOU lands in the space between touching and indifferent. It’s not a disaster, and it occasionally finds authentic emotion, particularly in the central mother-daughter relationship. But it stops short of the intensity its premise demands. The regret here isn’t that the film exists. It’s that it never fully embraces the messiness that could have made it unforgettable.

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