The Real Romance in Prime Video’s ‘Upgraded’ Is Not the One You Think

The big picture

• Upgraded features an unconventional romance between Ana and art, instead of the expected romance with William.
• The film captures Ana's journey of female empowerment in the art world, not a traditional romance.
• The gender roles are reversed at the end, where William symbolizes Ana's victory, similar to The Devil Wears Prada.

If you entered Prime Video's Updated with high hopes for a timeless romance full of tender moments that make you shiver, you've come to the right place. Updated is marketed as a romance between an aspiring art intern and the handsome stranger she meets on the plane, and if you thought it was the timeless romance you were looking for, you'll be hard pressed to find satisfaction. While their first interaction on the plane promises us chemistry and wit, we end up slowly wading through the latter, hoping to find some recurring hint of romance within the relationship. Instead, shift your perspective a little wider and you'll find it the greatest romance of life between Ana (Camila Mendes) and art.

The love affair between humans and art has been the subject of speculation for eons, and Updated he takes advantage of this love to produce a modern interpretation. In this world, Ana is voraciously determined to do just that she bridges the gap between herself and her lover by doggedly climbing the corporate ladder while addressing the class differences that accompany it. William (Archie Renauxknown for his role on Netflix Shadow and bone) simply becomes the golden ticket for a shorter train ride there, while ultimately becoming a trophy, symbolic of Ana's victory. In fact, there is more chemistry between Ana and her boss, with hers The devil wears Prada relationship becoming both an obstacle and a vehicle to unite Ana with her great love.

The stereotypical romance in “Updated” is boring and expected

Crashing into each other in the airport's first class lounge, Ana and Williams' romance literally starts with a bang, leading to witty banter on the plane. In the closed environment of the intimate first class seats in the sky, the spark between them engulfs the space as their rapid retorts bounce off each other. This private moment is as intoxicating as the Bloody Mary that was spilled, even with Ana's outrageous lie about being the youngest art director in her company. Despite this, this chemistry is just awesome in the air, driven further underground when the plane lands. Mendes returns to his place at center stage while his interactions with Lena OlinCatherine feels more flirtatious than the dead air that now hangs between her and William. Even his comment about Catherine looking like she “stepped out of a Jean Beraud painting” creates a closer connection between them and immediately excludes William from the interaction for a moment.

This shift in focus likely relates to William's conflict over being overshadowed by his mother's success and his desire to emigrate to New York to establish his own brand, namely an executive of advertising But her character arc feels flimsy as most of this includes him becoming a little wistful whenever his flamboyant mother is around, and suddenly being propelled into independence through the inspiration he finds in his relationship with Ana . This translates to their romance, essentially summarized by a montage of their highlights and a couple of sporadic conversations about art. In fact, it's almost the antithesis of the Bechdel test, as most of their meaningful interactions involve Ana rushing into art and her corporate pursuits rather than the romance at hand.

Art Is Ana's True Love Interest In 'Updated'

The vague interpretation of the romance between Ana and William is pretty arbitrary, and if anything, the film treats it as their golden ticket to the art world rather than a solid love interest. Their initial chemistry is wiped from the screen it pales against the chemistry between Ana and the figures of the art world. Subsequently, William becomes more of a supporting character than a solid love interest, driving Ana's journey to bond with her true love. A love that is so blindingly obvious, it's ridiculous that we miss it on our first viewing. As we pass by the comedic dialogue and the simplicity of her relationship with William, we forget to check the overwhelming richness of emotion that exists between Ana and the art she admires.

While the lack of traditional romance a Updated It could be read as the film trying to show an empowered young female lead trying to make her mark on the world by prioritizing her career, it's simply more than that. As an intern at the lowest rung of the high-class art world, Ana still has a long way to go to get closer to her love. He endures exasperating tasks from his demanding boss, relentless harassment from his co-workers, and the ethical dilemmas of using people he envies and respects, just for the chance to occupy the same space as his interest loving This is the romantic epic stuff where the journey of crossing unwanted territories and slaying beasts rescuing a loved one only translates to the modern world. Updated it may feature female empowerment, but at heart it's a love story.

The height of this love is captured in a critical scene where Ana sees Catherine's art collection for the first time. Ana's company had traveled to London to auction one of the most extravagant art collections that had passed to a widow after her husband's death. Before Ana realizes that Catherine is the widow in question, she looks around her collection of Renoirs and Cézannes, completely in love with the power of the art that surrounds her and emphasizes that they are all expressions of love. His own love for them is so influential that it causes Catherine to perceive them in the same way, and therefore refuses to auction them. Although this puts Ana's position at her company in jeopardy, especially since Catherine believes that Ana is the auction house's director, her passion eventually brings her closer to establishing herself in the world of fine art .

“Updated” flips the gender roles in the finale

In addition to having won the position of gallerist that he has always dreamed of, which allows him to be constantly surrounded by art, Ana also wins the boy in the end. After the obligatory break in the third act, William does not return until the epilogue 6 months later, where Ana is thriving in the midst of her work and love. When William enters the gallery after it is closed, it really feels like it is the trophy he wins after the successful growth of his galleryespecially since it is the day that his boss Claire Dupont (Marisa Tomei) visit and raise the glass in thanks and respect. Gender roles are completely reversed as William becomes the symbol of victory in Ana's story, a notion that can only be compared to The devil wears Prada.

Although Andrea (Anne Hathaway) choice to reunite with old Nate (Adrian Grenier) was controversial The devil wears Prada, given his constant lack of support and immaturity, was probably symbolic of his victory as well. When Andrea walks away from the blizzard of the fashion world and the icy queen who rules it, Miranda (Meryl Streep), choose honesty, morality, and simplicity, all ideas that Nate represents. Similarly, William is also representative of what Ana chooses in the end. As an independent gallerist, Ana is rewarded with a man who is part of the high-class art world and breaks away from it to stand in his own artistic field. (if we agree that ads are art). While it may be reductive to choose the trope of the “trophy wife” as a vehicle for a gender role reversal, its power to emphasize the love story between Ana and art is undeniable.

“Updated” and “The Devil Wears Prada” share many similarities

But the parallels between them Updated i The devil wears Prada don't end here Ana and Claire's professional relationship, charged with chemistry, is essentially based on that of Andrea and Miranda. Powerful women are authoritative and demanding, but there are moments of quiet wonder and silent acknowledgments of being impressed by the efforts and achievements of their employees. In turn, the attendants are initially messy and constantly on the edge of turmoil, but eventually learn to thrive in their positions. This culminates in the two finals, where each boss gives their respective former employees a subtle sign of respecttreating them as equals.

Both assistants leave their previous jobs to find their own happiness, where Andrea found it in herself, Ana found it in her love for the arts. That passion is the driving force behind the film, especially one like this it closes with a piece that goes back to the beginning of the film. The final artwork we see is Hilma Af Klint's 1914 painting of what appear to be concentric blocks of semicircles on a red background. Called “The Swan”, the painting is part of a collection where a black and white swan is illustrated as an almost Ying Yang symbol but progressively breaks down into geometric and abstract shapes with each subsequent piece, until the latter Klint was inspired by the Philosopher's Stone, a compound rumored to be able to turn any alloy metal into gold, and thus represented two opposing forces that continue to evolve into almost purer dimensional versions of themselves.

As such, the painting essentially summarizes Ana's journey, as she battles opposing external and internal forces to achieve her dreams. In the end, he is able to achieve the purest version of his dreams, where she is constantly surrounded by romance with no exacting demands to fulfill, other than simply sharing her love. Although we went into the film with expectations of a cheesy rom-com between two strangers, we came away gushing with this unexpected love story that flips the script of a traditional romance.

Updated is available to watch now on Prime Video in the US

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