I haven't seen the original Spanish film or its sequel, nor read the bestselling books. I only watched it out of curiosity about how a story about step-siblings falling in love became a wildly popular franchise on Prime Video. Why not start with the English remake of "Culpa Mia?" There was a chance I wouldn't get the hype, but I thought the trailer looked solid, so it doesn't hurt to give it a chance. Wow, I somehow liked it!
To start with the positives, Asha Banks and Matthew Broome delivered endearing performances as Noah and Nick. I was surprised at how much I felt their chemistry despite the circumstances that brought them together. In particular, I felt that Banks' layered work is worth watching this movie alone, and I'm interested in seeing what she does next.
Second, Charlotte Fassler and Dani Girdwood's directing was vibrant. Fassler and Girdwood make Noah and Nick's forbidden romance very steamy. I'm not one to seek out those kinds of films and TV shows, but it's something to mention, especially if you're into that stuff. Ed Moore's exceptional cinematography adds to the film's overall sexiness.
Also, those racing and car chase sequences rule. For people like me (somewhat) eagerly awaiting the Fast & Furious franchise finale, these scenes are the perfect antidote. That's the reason why the trailer compelled me to watch it, and while it's not what the film's about, damn it, the car chasing and racing's unabashed fun!
While I don't think it'll be a contender for Best or even my personal favorite of the year, I appreciated Melissa Osbourne's screenplay more than I thought I would. I can't overlook how engaged I was in the narrative, regardless of its issues, which we'll get to, and how Noah and Nick's relationship would develop and work in general.
For the last positive, the pacing never drags. I never felt the two-hour runtime, even though there were flaws, and I was always curious to see where this story would go.
Unfortunately, issues are present. However, they're not as large as I thought, and I only noticed two.
First, it contains numerous cliches that have become staples of the romance film genre. I won't spoil any of them, but if you have seen your fair share of romance movies - of which I have; I'm a fan of romcoms - you'll see various moments happen from a mile away.
Speaking of predictable, there's a plot detail - if you're curious, it's in IMDb and Google's summary of this film, but I didn't see it coming - that the film treats like a twist. I don't know why it does, and, again, no spoilers, but the detail brings the film full circle. Said circle leads to a third act that dares to clash with the remaining one hundred minutes leading up to it. Luckily, those are the only two issues I have with the movie, but they still keep the film from being great.
I'm shocked that I liked "My Fault: London" as much as I did. It's a film that I felt wouldn't break from a saturated market of book-to-screen YA romance adaptations. "Twilight" is what people almost always think about first, but I haven't seen that saga in years. I'll use a more recent example that I stupidly watched to prepare for its sequel I couldn't finish, but luckily, mentioning it in the review here will give me some justification for watching it. Two years ago, a film called "Beautiful Disaster" came out, and it was an unfun, cliched mess that wanted to make a franchise out of the books. I couldn't care less, but in the case of "My Fault," I'm curious to see where they go. I know there's already a sequel to the original Spanish film, but I'm interested in seeing what happens next in this interpretation. Bring on "Your Fault: London" and "Our Fault: London." Let's hope the law of diminishing returns doesn't ruin this promising franchise.
Technically, cliches aside, the acting, directing, screenplay, and cinematography make for a 9/10 technical score.
For the enjoyment score, it's not going to be for everyone. You must ask yourself if you can accept a fictional story about a step-sibling romance. If you're able to, you'll likely enjoy it. Fans of the books will fall in love with it, and casual movie fans like me will find themselves baffled by how much they enjoyed it, so the enjoyment score for the latter audience is a 7/10. I never thought this would be something I'd recommend as an entertaining time, but here I am writing this review!
