Love hurts. Love is kind. Love is (insert Paul’s epistles here). In a new film titled Which Brings Me to You, love is certainly complicated. It’s a tale led by two young Hollywood talents, the striking Lucy Hale and the devilishly charismatic Nat Wolff. They recently opened up to MovieWeb about their love for music, the layered characters they play in this latest feature, and award-winning Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lathimos.
Yes, it’s a wide-ranging interview just in time for the release of their new rom-com, though some could argue it’s more of a dramedy. There’s a sort of sultry romance here between their characters, Will and Jane, and you might just find yourself relating to a variety of stories they tell each other after a chance meeting at a friend’s East Coast wedding. Playing out in real-time, the new movie from director Peter Hutchings (The Hating Game) is out now.
Geeking Out About The Beatles with Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff
Moviegoers will recognize the film’s two stars from numerous other projects dating back to even before the nostalgia boom of the 2010s. As Nat Wolff was rising to stardom at an early age, music was very much a part of his life, in addition to acting. He and brother Alex, who has starred in recent films like Oppenheimer and Pig, started a band during their youth, and they’re still going strong as a duo today.
“The Beatles were sort of our religion growing up,” said Wolff after noticing a poster of the band coincidentally placed behind me during our interview. “[The docuseries Get Back] was so amazing. Even if you’re not a musician… it’s like one of the most beautiful things… When people ask me my top 10 movies, I always say Get Back is in there. The other documentary I’ll put in there is I’m Trying to Break Your Heart, the Wilco documentary, which is f***ing amazing, too.” Chronicling the band’s infamous production of their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it’s a must-see.
Wolf continued, regarding teaming up with his brother:
“We’re actually going on tour together… We start on Sunday in Boston, but we’re always looking for something to act in together, too. We did a movie called Stella’s Last Weekend… My mom directed it, our dad did the score. And it was like a really good family project. It would be really, really great to work together.”
Lucy Hale jokes that she could be the third Wolff in their band (Lucy and the Wolffs does have a good ring to it). The actor has musical talents of her own, a singer who shares a love for The Beatles with her co-star. “I actually got to meet Paul McCartney, which is like one of the most exciting things,” she told us. “Two years ago, he was doing the Howard Stern show, and I was in the lobby… He’s just a magnetic person.” Wolff met McCartney once as well, and jokes that he wept like “a 16-year-old in the ’60s.”
Bad Relationships: ‘We Can All Relate’
Now these two Beatles lovers have a starring vehicle hitting the masses with Which Brings Me to You, based on an acclaimed novel that centers on Will and Jane, two romance burnouts who ultimately bond over their past failed flings dating back to school. “We can all relate to reminiscing on our past relationships. I think that it’s healthy to do that,” said Hale. “Like, that’s how you evolve and grow, taking a look at your past and saying, ‘Oh, what was my part in that?’ Which is, I think, why Jane and Will are actually connected to each other, because they’re figuring out their own sh*t. And in doing that, they feel closer to each other.” She continued:
“And I think we’ve been talking about in interviews, that there’s something really safe and comforting about having these conversations with strangers, like a therapist. You tell them your secrets because they have a very neutral viewpoint on it all. I mean, we’ve all had our first love. You can draw on that first love feeling, but some of the things Jane has done, I had never actually experienced in my real life. But I had so much to draw from in my personal life because we all have those heartbreaks and those love stories.”
Wolff was certainly in agreement on the idea of sharing your past with others in an unofficially therapeutic sort of way. “I just think that it’s always healthy, especially when you’re embarking on a relationship with a new person, to look backwards and think about the pitfalls that you made in previous relationships, in order that it can inform your new one, and in order to avoid those,” said Wolff. He added:
And that, like Lucy was saying, is like therapy. And in my therapy, definitely in examining past relationships, it’s been helpful for understanding. So this movie felt therapeutic in a way, and I had a couple at a screening say, ‘This is good for us to see. It’s going to start a lot of conversations.’
Which Brings Me to Pretty Little Liars and Yorgos Lanthimos
Which Brings Me To You
- Release Date
- January 19, 2024
- Director
- Peter Hutchings
- Writers
- Keith Bunin , Steve Almond , Julianna Baggott
Just as the characters Jane and Will look at their past lives leading up to this epic chance encounter in the film, we looked back at other notable projects the two stars have tackled. With Hale, one can’t help but remember Pretty Little Liars, which was so successful that a reboot recently came into fruition. “I forget how my character Aria is involved, but I know she’s been mentioned in some way,” said Hale when we asked if she’d ever return to the franchise, adding:
“I mean, I never say ‘never.’ That show was the biggest gift in my life. That was an experience that changed my life in every way, shape and form. And I hold so much gratitude for that experience. I don’t know if I’d ever do a reboot, but who knows? I’m happy they’re letting it live on. I think it’s amazing. I think it’s a great premise. So I’m in full support of that.”
And Hale is certainly in support of some other acclaimed recent projects, as we learned from our interview. In the spirit of awards season, we had to ask her and Wolff if they have any favorite films that are up for accolades these days. “I really loved Anatomy of a Fall,” Wolff replied. “I’ve been pushing Lucy to watch it.” And then Hale was quickly in agreement on the Golden Globe-winning film. “Anatomy of a Fall was so interesting because it was such a good, obviously, whodunit, and so it’s really fun to watch. But then it was just such a great examination of a relationship.”
Some other award-winners came to mind for the pair as well. “I just watched Past Lives on the plane,” Hale said. “It’s beautiful. I was fully sobbing on the plane. I mean, I love when things live up to the hype.” She’s not wrong; it may be the best movie of 2023.
They also both loved Poor Things, and we all ended up debating the ending of an entirely different Yorgos Lanthimos project, one that was Oscar-nominated over a decade ago. “I love Dogtooth. Wild ride,” said Wolff. And then Hale replied, “A long time ago, I watched it on YouTube. I didn’t even know what it was. I was just like, ‘This is awesome.’ I was so horrified in the best way.”
Cut to the year 2024, and Hale & Wolff’s new film Which Brings Me to You is now in theaters. Check out our entire unedited interview in the video at the top of the article.
