‘Love At First Sight’ Review: Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy Are Adorable in Netflix’s Best Romance in Years

Netflix’s Love at First Sight might just be the streaming service’s best romance since Lara Jean accidentally confessed her love to Peter Kavinsky back in 2018’s To All the Boys of I’ve Loved Before. And, like many successful romantic comedies before it, that’s thanks in large part to the chemistry of Love at First Sight‘s two leads, Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy.

Directed by Vanessa Caswill, with a screenplay by Katie Lovejoy, this new Netflix movie—coming to the streaming service on September 15— is adapted from the 2011 novel, The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. The set-up is exceedingly simple: Hadley (Richardson) meets a cute British boy named Oliver (Hardy) on a flight from New York City to London. Over the course of the six hour flight, Hadley and Oliver fall in love.

The dialogue is hardly Nora Ephron-worthy, so it’s up to Richardson and Hardy to sell their attraction to one other. And boy, do they ever. Richardson, who won a SAG award for her performance in The White Lotus last year, brings her usual understated, down-to-earth charm. She’s the master of dry, self-deprecating humor; her nose scrunching adorably when she laughs. Her shy but flirtatious glances at—and then away from—Oliver are irresistible. Hardy, meanwhile, is all sheepish smiles and deliberate, sustained eye contact. The 32-year-old actor is best known for his role in the BBC soap EastEnders, but clearly has a career as a romantic lead ahead of him, if he wants it. Sure, the British accent contributes to the sexiness, but the lovelorn gazes into Richardson’s eyes are pure skill.

There’s no doubt that Richardson and Hardy elevate the material. But the specificity of these two characters goes a long way, too. Hadley is on her way to a wedding for a father (second marriage), whom she resents for breaking up her family. And though you may think you see Oliver’s “twist” coming from a mile away, the execution might just surprise you. Between the actors’ chemistry and the characters’ authenticity, this simple, straightforward romance transforms into something special.

It’s been a minute since a Netflix original romance tugged on my heartstrings, despite the streamer’s reputation for “saving the rom-com.” It’s been five years since the very good To All the Boys and Set It Up were both released in 2018, and it’s arguably been downhill for Netflix romances since. This year’s Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher flick was a disappointment, the To All the Boys sequels failed to live up to the OG, and don’t even get me started on last year’s military propaganda movie Purple Hearts. But Love at First Sight feels like Netflix finally living up to its rep as a streamer that makes solid, fun, easy-to-watch romances. Hadley and Oliver may not be quite as iconic as Lara and Peter, but they sure are cute.

Love At First Sight will begin streaming on Netflix on September 15.