The Image of You Movie Review – A Fatal Non-Attraction

Based on Adele Parks’ novel, director Jeff Fisher’s The Image of You positions itself as a sexy thriller movie dripping with intrigue and family deception. Unfortunately, a telegraphed script and a distinctively Hallmark sheen make this Sasha Pieterse-starring vehicle feel like an unwelcome throwback to cheap SkinMax movies from the ’90s.

So, what’s the story here? Anna (Pieterse) falls madly in love with Nick (Parker Young). However, her relationship’s bonds are tested by her identical twin sister, Zoe (Pieterse), who pushes to see how strong her sister’s new romance really is.

A rough and disappointing story

Chris Sivertson’s script fails to humanize the characters in The Image of You. Instead, they come across as plastic action figures to push around in the narrative rather than as fully fleshed human beings. The biggest culprits here are Anna and Zoe’s parents, David (Néstor Carbonell) and Alexia (Mira Sorvino), who don’t add much value to the proceedings apart from their shoehorned participation in the third act’s reveal. It’s disappointing and frustrating in equal measure, especially considering the pedigree of Carbonell and Sorvino as actors; yet, they are entirely wasted through bizarre storytelling choices.

Similarly, it’s tough to turn off the brain and enjoy the film for what it is because of the implausibility of the story in large stretches. The film’s ah-ha moment feels more ha-ha since there’s no way any of this could have happened without someone, anyone, picking up on the inconsistencies in real life. In addition, the parts that Fisher and his team try to keep hidden from viewers are in plain sight and it isn’t too difficult to figure out the twist early on. 

Sasha Pieterse does what she can here

While Jeff Fisher mentioned how the script for The Image of You reminded him of Basic Instinct, Body Heat, and Fatal Attraction, this film is nowhere in the league of those features. In fact, it shares much more in common with anything from Shannon Tweed’s filmography where things happen, characters speak like they’re getting paid per word, and the composer doesn’t know when to take five. It also doesn’t help that it looks too polished and bright for what’s essentially an erotic thriller, when it could have used a much darker tone and aesthetic to complement the intention. 

On the plus side, Sasha Pieterse puts in a committed performance as both Anna and Zoe. Both characters behave drastically differently from each other, so it’s up to Pieterse to shift gears and portray two polar opposite roles. No one can fault her efforts here, but she is let down by the failure to have better developed characters on paper. In a similar boat is Parker Young’s Nick. The talent is there and he does everything required to convince, but Young is also let down by the lack of character development.

Is The Image of You a good movie?

It’s difficult to recommend The Image of You with all of its glaring flaws and strange storytelling decisions that take away from what could have been a fun thriller. That said, it’s possible that it might find an audience on a streaming platform as it is the kind of film that people will watch on those slow weeks when there’s not much content to consume.

The Image of You
Follows identical twins Anna and Zoe. When Anna meets a stock trader, she thinks he's perfect, but Zoe doesn't trust him, so she sets out to discover the truth about him.

	Studio: Republic Pictures
	Running Time: 94 minutes
	Release Date: May 10, 2024
	Cast: Nestor Carbonell, Mira Sorvino, Sasha Pieterse, Parker Young, Rebekah Graf, Ogy Durham
	Director: Jeff Fisher
	Writers: Adele Parks, Chris Sivertson
	Genre: Thriller
	Box Office: N/A