Rent 2 Hearts (2020)

2 Hearts (aka All My Tomorrows) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

2 Hearts is supposedly based on a true story and yet I can’t quite find where this story originated from. It’s not that I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a true story as it certainly seems possible. That being said, it’s also so sloppily assembled with dreadfully boring romantic drama you could sell me on this picture being based on a best-selling book of the Nicolas Sparks variety.

The film follows two couples across time that end up connecting with one another. Jorge (Adan Canto) is the son of a wealthy family that had surgery at a young age which makes it hard for him to breathe. On a plane ride over to America, he meets Leslie (Radha Mitchell), a stewardess of Pan-Am, which should give you some idea of the era. They fall for each other rather easily and soon enough they marry. Of course, their futures don’t seem to be destined to go very far with Jorge’s failing health.

In another story, college students Chris (Jacob Elordi) and Sam (Tiera Skovbye) also hit it off well. They form a friendship and that friendship soon turns romantic. But, oh no, Chris also has a medical condition where nothing short of a miracle can save him from an early grave. Can love prevail when the chips seem down?

Long story short, 2 Hearts, as the title implies, is a story about organ donation. Yes, that title is literal. It’s a bit like the film 21 Grams. But instead of evoking some drama from the connective tissue of our lives that can be both emotional and physical, soapy and somber drama. The film attempts to lull the viewer into a full sense of security that everything will work out for these good-looking characters and that when tragedy strikes it’s unexpected. But the romance stumbles so hard and telegraphs its upcoming sadness that the attempts at a tearful conclusion come off more standard than shocking.

2 Hearts never quite finds a way to sell its sloppy story that seems better suited for the Hallmark Channel or a Lifetime movie. The performances are fine from the leads but they’re merely playing a standard template of somber romantic drama that rarely comes off as anything more than a paint-by-numbers game. In its two areas of focusing on the power of love and the personal concerns of organ donation, 2 Hearts flatlines in both areas.