A Picture of Her

8.0 stars.

The film opens with a fisherwoman named Beth as first mate on her dad's boat in the Pacific Northwest. They learn of her aunt being injured so Beth goes to Los Angeles to take care of her while she convalesces. While in the city she meets a photojournalist named Jake and they fall in love. She soon finds out he has been lying to her, and in the midst of her grief she leaves the city never to return. Jake is left hanging and wishing he could have saved this fragile relationship he so callously dismantled.

The story is different than any Hallmark I've ever seen. First of all, there are few movies that showcase a professional photographer of his caliber, and the fact he's a paparazzi is interesting and fresh. Her character is not very fascinating, but I think she is a very pretty actress so there's wiggle room. Fish does have some idiosyncratic mannerisms that might be disenchanting for some viewers, but I still find her alluring. I feel I'm strangely in the minority based on the multiple scathing reviews.

'A Picture of Her' is an entertaining film for two reasons, the first being that the synergy between Hynes and Fish is undeniable. When they kiss it's real, there's no faking that level of chemistry. I like that she initiates the affection most of the time leaving us to feel like he's a real gentleman in spite of the biker boy/bad boy image he manifests. Secondly, this film provides a solid romance and a very enticing story. Don't focus on the nonessentials, keep your eye on the vibrancy and mystique that Hynes and Fish exude on the screen.

This movie is romantic in a way that is more than a relationship between the lead man and woman. It celebrates the beauty of life and the things around us. Many of these moves do that to some degree but this aspect really struck me in this movie.

I think Tyler Hynes is perfect for this move. He is quiet and thoughtful as Jake. Hynes and Rhiannon Fish have a nice chemistry with some banter between them, but quieter than in the movies where the leads are going hard at one another in the first third or half of the movie. The dialogue is representative of that and decent but not sparkling.

The story has a few borrowed elements from the formulaic, but it is mostly fresh.

I didn't think the bit between Beth and the agent made sense especially since the worldly and experienced Jake should have seen what was going on immediately or at least warned Beth beforehand.

And no, I am not just talking about Australia's Rhiannon Fish (or is that Canada's Rhiannon Fish?) who is at her radiant and effervescent best in this film, opposite Hallmark favourite, Tyler Hynes. Their chemistry is off the charts, right from their first scene together - one of the most outstanding casting decisions Hallmark has made in a long time - and Fish nails her role, delivering a bubbly performance as Beth, opposite Hynes' photographer Jake. Their banter is A-grade, too.

Maybe I wouldn't be giving this 7 stars had it not been for Tyler Hynes and Rhiannon Fish.

The scenes in and around British Columbia that stand in for Washington state (as BC so often does in these productions) add another layer of beauty to what is a well-shot film.

P. S. Multiple (heavy!) kisses before the final minutes of the movie? What is this, Hallmark from an alternate universe?

Beth is a fisherwoman, one could say, who is going to LA to take care of her fractured aunt. Jake is a freelance photographer who happens to be in a assignment when he runs into a beautiful scenario and takes a soon-to-be famous picture. Meanwhile, he meets Beth, go out with her and is infatuated with her from the very first moment.

I don't know what's with Tyler Hynes lately, I'm fascinated by the bad boy energy and looking forward to every movie he is in. Both him and Rhiannon Fish play the kind of characters that both of them have before. Him the mysterious, laid back guy and her the next door type of girl. (I even believe there is a reference to one of her previous movies: orcas) But it works. I thought their chemistry was decent.

Things about the movie that were weird or didn't like: the lies, it dragged on for more time than it should have. I thought it was the worst aspect of the movie. The character of the agent was suspicious, hints were given about him but we never got to find out what was going on. And the pace of the movie was weird for me, maybe because it completely shifted halfway through it.

Overall, it was a good movie. I wouldn't mind watching more movies with them, whether it's together or separately.

This story was going so well! But unfortunately, the creators did not use the potential.

While the main character (Tyler Hynes) plays quite OK and you can actually feel that he is the photographer, his film partner (Rhiannon Fish) is childish and does not reflect the character at all. She plays a 17-year-old imprisoned in the body of an adult woman (her facial expressions and sweet voice are so irritating that I thought about muting her voice).

This story... this story could have turned out very differently. Unfortunately we have another Hallmark movie. Eh.

I'm really looking forward to a good romantic comedy. Anyone?