“After your first, life is never the same,” is the tagline from “First Love,” the new film from A.J. Edwards, who worked closely with acclaimed director Terrence Malick throughout the last several years. “First Love” follows Jim (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) and Ann (Sydney Parker), two high school seniors who navigate a bourgeoning romantic relationship as they stand at the crossroads of their young lives. As the two teenagers fall for one another, Jim is set on attending UCLA on a track scholarship, while Ann is considering going to college in New York City, meaning that their love will potentially be cut short before it can blossom. Meanwhile, Jim’s parents (Jeffrey Donovan and Diane Kruger) are dealing with the consequences of an economic crisis.
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Here’s the official synopsis:
FIRST LOVE follows Jim (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), a senior in high school, experiencing the highs and lows of his first love with Ann (Park) as they navigate their pending departure to college. At the same time, Jim’s parents (Kruger and Donovan) are dealing with the familial fallout of a financial crisis.
While Edwards worked as an editor on semi-recent Malick films such as “To the Wonder” (2012) and “Knight of Cups” (2015), he made his feature-length debut with “The Better Angels” (which also starred Kruger). While fans of Malick hailed the film, our own review described it as “a young grasshopper student too devoted to his master.” It is interesting that Edwards would follow up the Malick-esque (for better or worse) “The Better Angels” with a young adult coming-of-age drama. But then again, he didn’t. Edwards also made 2018’s crime drama, “Age Out,” with the great cast of Tye Sheridan and Imogen Poots, but sadly, very few audiences saw it, and it quietly came out in the fall of 2019, seemingly forgotten in the rush of Oscar buzz. Perhaps this is the big heart shift one needs to escape the shadow of one of the most revered directors of all time.
“First Love” will be released June 17 in theatres and On Demand via Vertical Entertainment.
