Film Review: Sounds Like Love

Director: Juana Macías
Starring: María Valverde, Álex González, Elísabet Casanovas
Running time: 110 minutes  

Maca (Maria Valverde) is an aspiring social media assistant stuck in a job with her ungrateful influencer boss. By her side are her two best friends Adriana (Susana Abaitua) and Jimena (Elizabet Casanovas), who are always ready to take on the world with her. Both girls have seen Maca through tough times, especially when her ex Leo (Alex Gonzalez) walks back into her life – the man who gave her everything and then took it all away.

However, both of her friends have their own life problems to deal with. Adriana is stuck in a marriage where she’s not sexually pleased by her husband, and Jimena is holding on to the hope of the reincarnation of Santi – a past boyfriend – and struggles to hold down a stable relationship. All three friends discover how hard love really can be, but they guide each other through their own trials and tribulations.

The film is easy to invest in from the start, with its upbeat music and bright scenes of Madrid that’ll make you yearn for a foreign holiday – and Maria Valverde’s character Maca gives us a clear introduction to the story that ensures viewers won’t be lost within the first ten minutes.

There are also some apt and well-known song choices – not just Spanish hits – such as The Night We Met, which plays during an intense moment between ex-lovers. A mid-shot during this scene shows them standing in the streets of Madrid as it rains, which Maca points out is a typical romantic trope. As their eyes meet and their lips lock, you sink into the moment yourself and live vicariously through the characters. 

Adriana is perhaps the stand-out character. From the beginning we can tell she is hiding behind her true self as she is clearly unhappy in her marriage and feels stuck. However, when she and her husband have a threesome, we start to see Adriana discover her true self through her sexuality. She definitely has the most character development and this is something I applaud in featuring within the plot. 

Overall, Sounds Like Love is a pleasantly surprising watch with a soundtrack featuring recognisable songs, great character development and moments of intense love. 

Did you know? Netflix has worked with over 35 production companies in Spain to date, aiming to create films of a variety of different genres for both local and international audiences. 

Sounds Like Love is available now on Netflix