Red White & Royal Blue – A Heartfelt Romance (Early Review)

In the end, what draws audiences towards romance films is the escapism as they let themselves be absorbed by the range of stories depicted on screen and live through their characters as they meet and then fall in love. Meanwhile, the theme of love is something that resonates across all people of all cultures. That being said, there are still holes in terms of representation. Red White and Royal Blue, based on the book of the same name by Casey McQuiston, is a powerful LGBT romance film that avoids the pitfalls of sappiness and cheese on its way to delivering a truly heartfelt tale that taps into the emotions of audiences in a compelling way. A large part of that is the stellar performances and chemistry of Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine who absolutely carry a film that would be easy to dismiss on paper, at least by those who wouldn’t be familiar with the source material. While not groundbreaking in terms of story, what sets it apart is the circumstances from which the it is spurred from. However, all that essentially goes away, allowing audiences to hone in on the main storyline. The reasons why this won’t be for everyone should be clear but it is worth a chance and one of the best Prime Video original films.

Unlikely romances are not exactly uncommon but Red White and Royal Blue made things especially complicated as the contentious relationship between Alex (Perez), the son of American President Ellen Claremont (Thurman), and Prince Henry (Galitzine) of the British royal family was put under the microscope as relations between their countries laid in the balance. Forced to repair their relationship before it is too late, they started to spend more time with each other. Over that time, they got to know each other in a deeper way as they perhaps had more in common than they realized. At the same time, their relationship of course grew into something more in spite of their positions. Nevertheless, they tried to make it work as the film keeps tapping into the contrast between Alex and Henry and their positions and circumstances. Alex, driven by the working-class values he was raised on, up against Henry’s values drawn from his privileged and sheltered made for a compelling dynamic that slowly evolved over the course of the film. Watching them and their relationship blossom was a delight, however, there was always going to be a dark cloud looming over them that threatened to hold their relationship from going further and being more than a mere fling.

The royal angle and the challenges that came from it were obvious, however antiquated they may be, but both Alex and Henry had stakes. The internal conflict of balancing their relationship with the responsibilities that came with being who they were became increasingly difficult. They loved each other but they wanted to do right for their families and respective people. Ultimately, in order to move forward, they had to learn to take control of their own lives and not let their lives control them. While a simple concept, it would be a hard one to implement in a process featuring plenty of drama. Living essentially in a bubble on the periphery of their public lives, the fantasy they created for themselves was inevitably not going to last forever. As that bubble burst, it presented Alex and Henry with the opportunity to come out and embrace who they were. Though a risk, it was one that would pay off.

The best part of Red White and Royal Blue is the aforementioned stellar performances of Perez and Galitzine as Alex and Henry. Not only a blast to watch together, each of their effortless charm shine through, resulting in a memorable pairing. An equal two-parter, seeing them grow and evolve across this coming-of-age romance was a highlight. Using Alex and Henry’s circumstances as a jumping off point was easy but Perez and Galitzine still got to show off some range while pulling audiences into their characters’ journey and internal strife. Though there could have been more depth there, they help to somewhat make up for that. Thurman puts on a little too strong of an accent, for better or worse. However, she makes the most out of her limited screen time.

At the end of the day, Red White and Royal Blue offers audiences a memorable romance adaptation that harnesses emotion in a genuine way and overall, is a nice surprise.

still courtesy of Amazon Studios

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.