The Truth About Being Human with Love of Your Life (2026)

When I first saw this film at its TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) premiere, I could only think about how it seemed to capture the essence of being human, of being alive. 

On paper, it’s a simple premise. Rachel Morrison’s new film centers around Maya (Margaret Qualley), whose life changes after finding love, only to learn how to love and live again. With the film’s title, most would believe it was a romcom, and so did I when I first saw it. 

I have been thinking about it ever since, and when it officially released on Amazon Prime, I decided to rewatch it. 

The entire film views Maya through a very nuanced lens. We see her in her worst moments and her best ones. She’s never shown as the best person in the world, but as a human at her core. 

Maya is first introduced during her everyday life as a nurse in the ER department; it shows us how she is both as a nurse and as a person. Telling us that she was compassionate in her job and cared about the patients she took care of, while also showing us that she was a person at the end of the workday. 

One thing we learn about Maya from the beginning is that she is quite independent. Something that is relevant to her entire character as we meet Charlie (Gabriel Basso) when Maya picks up a Facebook Marketplace purchase. There’s something that changes the interaction between them. 

Like a spark ignited between them, making Maya want to give Charlie a chance. 

For the first 20-30 minutes, her life goes in her favour. Maya falls in love for the first time, gets married to Charlie, and they both continue to build a future together. Until the film focuses on a news headline, something about the incoming pandemic and how the characters were hoping it wouldn’t last long. 

This was where the film ultimately changed. Both as a genre and in the overall tone. Especially when we witness Charlie’s death as he dies due to the severity of his COVID-19 symptoms. 

Going forward, Maya is forced to move on, as she battles with grief and the mourning period that followed it. Learning how to love and live again, after learning how to do those things with Charlie. 

I vividly remember witnessing the twist in the cinema, as the audience collectively gasped (as did I), since we had no idea how the film would go. And something that has stuck with me was how Morrison managed to capture the way society suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, where it wasn’t overreacting but rather familiar in how the film was shot and how Qualley stole the show with the moment she lost Charlie. 

With Qualley stealing the show, I thought she did well capturing the essence of being human. We never see her as perfect, like when she avoids talking to Charlie’s mother (Catherine Keener) and breaks off her relationship with Felix (Aaron Pierre) to figure herself out. Overall, Margaret Qualley shows she’s capable of being a leading lady, as her performance is electric and captivating.

The realistic reality of Love of Your Life makes it even more painful knowing I probably would’ve acted the same way Maya did. 

It also made me think: what defines us as humans? Or to be human?

Like Maya, it made me realize that being human is to simply keep going. There are always hardships, but they shouldn’t stop you. It’s always possible to relearn things that you’ve learned before. 

Including losing the person you called ‘the love of your life.’