Lonely Planet (2024) review

Experienced novelist Katherine Loewe (Laura Dern) shows up at a writers' retreat in Morocco along with enthusiastic newbie Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers) and her boyfriend Owen (Liam Hemsworth), who works in finance - one day, Owen winds up going on a long drive with Katherine and starts to develop feelings for her even though she's initially dismissive, and then Owen and Lily keep bickering because he feels out of place.  Despite the pleasant scenery and a decent cast, this is a very low-effort romantic drama (that's devoid of humor): it's clear that Lily and Owen aren't compatible from the get-go (he doesn't read much, she's a flake) and then there are the egregious plot devices, like Lily receiving a provocative text message from another man at just the right time and Katherine having her bag swiped by thieves.  Two years ago, there was some chatter about the "inappropriate" age difference between Dern and Sam Neill in Jurassic Park (she was 23, he was 42), but in this she's 57 and Hemsworth is 34 ... and curiously, I can't seem to find a single article whining about it.  Gee whiz, I wonder why that is....