‘Lonely Planet’ Review: Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth Leave Home

One of the odder trends in 2024 cinema has involved romances, some of them steamy, between middle-aged women and much younger men. Anne Hathaway starred in one, Léa Drucker in another, and Nicole Kidman in not one but two more. This plot is hardly new, either in concept — Hollywood history is riddled with older men romancing ingénues — or in this specifically gendered execution, with examples from “The Graduate” to “May December” in the canon.

But this year’s bumper crop is noticeable and a little inexplicable. The nature of the tale is fairly consistent: A woman is on a journey of self-understanding, and the liaison is the key to unlocking some ineffable thing she’s lost. The relationship may or may not be fated for long-term success, but it points to double standards about women’s pleasure and also can make for some pretty hot cinema.

In this 2024 lineup, “Lonely Planet” is distinctive mostly for being the one starring Laura Dern. Unfortunately, despite its wattage, it pales in comparison to its cousins.

Dern plays Katherine Loewe, a novelist of some renown who’s flown to Marrakesh for a chic writers residency. She’s on deadline, but also in the midst of a bad breakup. Flustered and exhausted, she is hoping to find the head space she needs to finally finish her next book.

Among the other residency guests is Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers), whose first book made her an instant literary star. She’s uncertain of herself, and still young enough to be star-struck by other writers in attendance, including Katherine. And she’s also still young enough to have brought her boyfriend, Owen (Liam Hemsworth), along with her. (A seasoned writer, presumably, would know enough about the usual residency social scene to leave him back in New York.) But Lily is annoyed that Owen keeps having to leave their room at night to take calls about some deal that he’s making at his private equity firm.