| Grace (Teresa Palmer) likes to count thing. That’s not exactly accurate, she has a compulsive need to count otherwise she has a panic attack and feels like she has no control in this world. So she likes to count to feel safe and in control. She especially likes to count things in groups of 10. When she realizes she accidentally picked up 9 bananas at the grocery store, she needs to quickly find a 10th banana. | | 2024
Directed by: Marcelle Lunam
Screenplay by: Becca Johnstone, Toni Jordan
Starring: Teresa Palmer, Joe Dempsie
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That’s where the meet-cute with Seamus (Joe Dempsie) begins. Grace knows she has a mental disorder, and she knows that counting things will help her keep it under control. After the meet-cute, Grace explains in a narrative voice over that she has never been good at flirting. This is a fantastic movie which I love, but I’m afraid I have to nitpick and point out their one flaw. Grace is indeed very good at flirting. She literally has movie-perfect opening and closing lines in her brief initial encounter with Seamus. Their quick flirtatious banter is so good, that everybody is eagerly anticipating their future scenes. Grace may try to tell us that she’s a mathematics nerd with social anxiety and an obsessive compulsive disorder, but she’s also extremely good looking (she knows it) and is ridiculously good at flirting. It’s a mix that works really well.
Like all good romantic comedies that have something important to say, Addition starts funny and then gets serious. It’s a sexy movie that plays into Dempsie’s and Palmer’s winning chemistry. Grace is smart, she knows what parts of herself she has to hide and how to appear “normal” to not lose Seamus, but all of that hiding starts adding up and Grace starts losing control of her perfectly ordered world.
It’s a movie about being yourself, but way more importantly, it’s a movie about dealing with mental health. Grace knows she has a disorder, she knows what she has to do to control it, but what she has never done is attempt to deal with it, understood its roots and how it might manifest itself in different ways. The fact that she has an imaginary boyfriend, none other than famed mathematician Nikola Tesla, might be one of those other ways in which her mental illness manifests itself. But she like Nik, why would she want to lose him?
Eamon Farren as the imaginary Nik shows up from time to time when Grace is not dealing with her mental disorder. He’s entertaining, and also has winning chemistry with Teresa Palmer. But like most imaginary people, there’s a lot missing (the not being real and all) and the audience will always root for Seamus.
Addition might have a lot to say, but in its heart, it’s a romantic comedy, and one that plays up the romance and the comedy perfectly. I don’t know if I have ever rooted for a movie couple as badly as I rooted for Grace and Seamus. It is just a winning formula from beginning to end.
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