Upamanyu Biswas
‘Lonely Planet’ is a romantic drama between an older woman and a younger man who come together during a writers’ retreat in Morocco. As Katherine and Owen come to terms with their failures, they slowly fall in love while reevaluating their identities in the exotic Moroccan countryside. It offers the two disparate souls something to bond over despite their differences. Feeling lost in their inadequacies, their meeting with one another proves to be a pivotal moment in their lives and brings a new direction to their life, even if constant worries plague them. Unfortunately, when the Morocco trip ends abruptly, the two find themselves adrift of one another, leaving the fate of their relationship in balance. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Katherine and Owen Rekindle Their Love After Overcoming a Misunderstanding
At the end of ‘Lonely Planet,’ Katherine and Owen’s attraction for one another finally comes to fruition as they acknowledge their feelings during the remaining days in Morocco. However, it proves to be a short-lived experience when a thief steals Katherine’s belongings, including her newest novel draft. Distraught at the prospect of having to write everything all over again, Katherine and Owen have a minor fallout in their hotel room, which hurts Owen. Subsequently, they return home single and broken-hearted. Months later, Katherine publishes her novel and meets Owen at a bar while celebrating its release. She apologizes to him for her harsh words and acknowledges how her insecurities got the better of her in Morocco. Owen stops her desperate explanation by kissing her and acknowledging his feelings for her.
Therefore, despite hitting a minor snag, the final moments prove that their relationship is back on track. Even if things take time to come together, by the end, both characters have clearly achieved a sense of harmony and balance within themselves and decidedly want to pursue their love story. It is a happy ending for the pair, particularly considering the deep introspection they had to carry out during the retreat. In a strange way, the timing of their meeting was off when they first met each other. Owing to their different personal issues, both needed the time and space to grow as people and to understand who they were before they could forge ahead with their relationship. Once their identities were firmly in place, it was only a matter of time before they found each other again.
The Relationship Between the Central Duo is Built on Personal Growth
Undoubtedly, one of the key factors of the central relationship is how it is built on the idea of personal intimacy and learning to understand the insecurities lurking underneath the surface. When Owen meets Katherine, she is struggling to finish her novel while also contending with the fallout of her divorce from her longtime husband. As such, her character has a sense of baggage attached to her, which she clearly feels apprehensive to open up about. However, as the two grow close, they start navigating these serious issues and talking as honestly as possible about them. In Katherine’s case, she also has an unhealthy obsession with her literary work that often leaves her unable to balance the other sides of life. By meeting Owen, she learns to prioritize what is important to her.
Laura Dern, who plays Katherine, said in an interview, “I think what was clear was that, when you find that connection and you feel seen, the intimacy is based on the feelings of everything you’ve carried in your life — not necessarily all the stories.” Just as Owen gets to witness Katherine’s shortcomings, the latter also watches Owen’s dysfunctional relationship with Lily and how he suffers through the lack of communication and understanding between them. The idea is that they’re both suffering from things that feel too heavy to share. It is only by admitting those vulnerabilities that Owen and Katherine come together as people and not just cardboard cutouts of one-dimensional characters.
Understanding Breeds Connection in Lonely Planet
The title ‘Lonely Planet’ suggests that there is an epidemic of loneliness affecting people around the globe, whether they are single or in a relationship. For Katherine, who is newly single, the loneliness comes from her inability to put her personal life over her professional one. Meanwhile, Owen suffers from a loneliness that is much sharper as he feels unvalued and belittled by Lily, who seems more enthusiastic about hanging out with other people than him. They are both screaming for connection and yet bottling everything up, which creates a whole host of unwanted situations further down the line. Honest communication may be the best policy, but it is only plausible when there is a sense of understanding between two people.
The challenge Katherine and Owen face is not only learning to acknowledge their own faults but also accepting their partner’s. This was something Owen and Lily never managed to accomplish. The latter even admits that she had always been unhappy about Owen’s lack of literary interests, something she considers deeply rooted in her identity. Ideally, stuff like this should be dealt with much earlier as it indicates the lack of ease and comfort in their relationship and why it was always doomed to fail. It seems less of a problem in Katherine and Owen’s bond as the pair are distinctly honest about their issues, even if it paints them in a bad light. Their professional fields may have completely divergent interests, but in matters of love, a deeper understanding is more important than sharing common interests.
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