Reel Review: Prime Video’s Newest YA Movie Love Me Love Me Takes A Dark Turn

For fans of YA romances like the After franchise and Maxton Hall, Prime Video’s newest English-language Italian original film will leave you emotionally unstable. Following a young girl and one twisted love triangle, Love Me Love Me touches on darker themes in comparison to most young adult romances.

Moving to Italy after the death of her brother, June (Mia Jenkins) is ready for a new start with new people. When one party results in an encounter gone wrong, June starts to develop feelings for charismatic straight A student, Will (Luca Melucci), and also his best friend and school’s bad boy, James (Pepe Barroso). June learns that both boys have their secrets, and slowly discovers that she can’t trust everyone at her new school.

Love Me Love Me strays from the usual structure of a lighthearted YA romance. It is revealed to us that June’s brother died from a steroid addiction, to which James is heading down the same path; dealing with substance abuse as a way to win illegal boxing fights. The theme of struggling addiction adds a new layer to James and June’s already complicated relationship. Meanwhile Will (who after sensing something between James and June) begins to become eerily obsessive and overly possessive of her. 

Stepping into the spotlight, Mia Jenkins gives an authentic voice to her character in her ability to encapsulate grief, panic, and anxiety. Luca Melucci and Pepe Barroso also portray realistic best friends; who are more like brothers, reminiscent of Conrad and Jeremiah. Each character is dealing with their own struggles and the consequences of their actions. What makes the film is how flawed all the characters are, and how open ended each of their stories are left.

Love Me Love Me is addictive, intense, and will definitely have all the girlies blushing! While at moments cringy and cliche, the underlying theme of addiction and substance abuse makes up for it. With deeply flawed characters and an ending that will leave you wanting more, we would love to see June, James, and Will’s journey hopefully continue in a sequel!

Love Me Love Me is streaming on Prime Video now!