If you overthink everything… meet Addition.
ADDITION has us swooning. It’s got all the pleasures you want from a feel-good rom-com: chemistry that sparks, just the right amount of drama, and that off-beat Aussie humour we don’t see nearly enough of.
good.film
7 days ago
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But what really gets our hearts aflutter - and why we’re backing it in a big way - is how cleverly it plays with the traditional formula, making this story feel perfectly tuned for contemporary love.
In short, if you loved the self-aware quirks of Fleabag, the charm of Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, or if your go-to pep talk in a rough moment is something like Bradley Cooper’s in Silver Linings Playbook, then ADDITION is absolutely for you.
Traditionally, tension in romantic comedies comes from external obstacles. Social rules, misunderstandings, or circumstance keeping lovers apart until the final act.
Think Bridgerton, where romance strains against rigid class boundaries - desire versus ruin. Or Heated Rivalry: while it does a brilliant job showing how hot sex can be when layered with consent, the core conflict still sits outside the lovers themselves - fear of coming out because of public exposure and professional risk.
In ADDITION, the primary conflict isn’t external. It lives inside Grace (Teresa Palmer).
For the relationship to work, Grace must face the thing she fears most: letting go of her compulsive counting. What feels like protection - a system that keeps her world ordered and safe - is also what keeps intimacy at bay. Falling in love demands uncertainty and a rewriting of the story she tells herself about who she is. Exactly what her anxiety resists.
That shift alone makes ADDITION different. But the film goes further, breaking with the rom-com mould in three key ways to give it a distinctly 2026 feel. We'll give you the one to three below, but first, some quick context.
From page to screen - how Addition came to be
ADDITION is adapted from Toni Jordan’s award-winning novel - a book many readers have loved for years. The film has been more than a decade in the making, and that patience shows.
Grace (Teresa Palmer) is a “counter”: she has a compulsive need to count things, a system that keeps her safe and in control. Enter Seamus (Joe Dempsie), effortlessly charming and instantly intrigued. Grace offers Seamus her ‘best’ herself: witty, flirty, whip-smart. While it’s clear early on that she struggles with anxiety - or what might once have been dismissed as “highly strung” - she keeps her deeper compulsions carefully managed.
The pressure builds as intimacy grows. Love means time together, fewer breaks, less space to release the internal tension. When Grace hits breaking point, she does something painfully recognisable: she hurts the person she loves to push them away. Anything to avoid being fully seen, right?
From there, the film shifts. Grace can no longer maintain the façade. Vulnerability feels destabilising. The routines meant to support her - medication, therapy, exercise - begin to feel monotonous and suffocating. She doesn’t feel like herself. And the relationship, once electric, starts to strain.
What does it really mean to be yourself- and can you even do that with someone else? It’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves at one time or another, and ADDITION explores it beautifully, weaving in the complexities of mental health along the way.
How Addition does love differently
As we flagged above, traditionally, rom-com tension comes from external obstacles - social rules, misunderstandings, or circumstances keeping lovers apart until the final act. ADDITION flips that script, deftly reimagining the genre in three key ways.
1. The heroine isn’t required to be “hot” at all times.
Teresa Palmer as Grace is hot. There’s no denying it. But, classic rom-coms often demand a leading woman who remains effortlessly desirable, even in crisis. Think Pretty Woman or How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Vulnerability is allowed, but rarely at the expense of attractiveness
ADDITION refuses to gloss over or romanticise struggle. Grace is working hard - often painfully hard - to stay well, to show up, and to be someone capable of love. We see the physical toll of her counting. We see exhaustion, fragility, and moments where she looks haggard or broken. We see her “switch” it on for others.
Teresa Palmer’s performance captures this brilliantly. Grace can move from bright and magnetic to unravelled and even haggard within a single scene. The film doesn’t cut away or rush through the hard parts - there’s no upbeat montage or tidy resolution. We sit with the monotony, the fatigue, the repetition of recovery routines, and the weight of living with anxiety.
By taking the time to show this, ADDITION makes it clear that mental health isn’t just a plot device; it’s treated with real care. It’s a struggle that affects every part of Grace’s life - and the film lets us feel that fully.
2. The love interest doesn’t “save” her
In many rom-coms, the arc is simple: the hero rescues the heroine, emotionally or materially.
But Seamus doesn’t fix Grace. The relationship doesn’t “complete” her. Instead, he offers something subtler and more powerful: safety. Safety to be seen. Safety to be honest. Safety to “let the crazy out” (Grace’s words, not ours) without shame.
That experience of safety matters - but can you really be safe if you’re relying just on one person to provide it?
Which leads us to….
3. Love that stretches beyond the romantic
One of ADDITION’s most meaningful expansions of the genre is its treatment of love beyond romance.
No spoilers here, but what carries Grace forward is not romantic love alone.
Grace’s family matters - especially her relationship with her niece, a young mathematical prodigy who idolises her. Grace wants to be present and worthy of that admiration. That bond raises the stakes in a different way.
It’s open to interpretation, but we’d argue that wanting to show up for her niece is just as powerful a driver of Grace’s growth as romantic love. ADDITION suggests that love can be plural: romantic, familial, and self-directed - and that together, they form something more durable than the classic “happily ever after”.
The final sums
Filmed in Melbourne, ADDITION is a love letter to the city - even for those of us who “ahem” not so secretly prefer other Aussie cities.
One of the things we love most is that it’s powered by a (pretty-much) all-female creative team (see the gorgeous pic below from the Westpac Open Air Premiere).
Producer Bruna Papandrea (Big Little Lies, Gone Girl, The Dry, Wild) brings the confidence of someone who knows audiences are ready for emotionally layered storytelling. First-time screenwriter Becca Johnstone delivers dialogue that feels sharp, lived-in and deeply respectful of the character’s interior life. Director Marcelle Lunam brings a steady, assured vision that never sensationalises struggle or rushes emotional beats.
ADDITION delivers warmth, chemistry, and genuine pleasure - but it also takes mental health seriously. If you’ve experienced anxiety, OCD, neurodiversity, or any form of psychological strain, you may recognise yourself in Grace.
It also offers a thoughtful model for loving someone who’s struggling: not by fixing them, but by being steady, accountable, and present. And it reminds us that care - from family, partners, or ourselves - can be a powerful catalyst for growth.
Ultimately, ADDITION is about connection. About showing up. About the messy, difficult, sometimes hilarious work of letting your “crazy” out and being human and in love.
ADDITION is in cinemas now. Rated M.
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