Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth Have ‘Life-Altering Love Affair’ in New Movie ‘Lonely Planet’

Set your sights on romance this fall with Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth. Netflix announced Tuesday that Lonely Planet, a new romance film from writer-director Susannah Grant is set to premiere on the streamer on Oct. 11. 

Dern plays reclusive novelist Katherine who attends a writer’s retreat in Morocco, hoping the remote setting will unlock her writer’s block. During her time there, she meets a young man, played by Hemsworth, and what starts as an acquaintanceship evolves into an “intoxicating, life-altering love affair.”

Dern told Netflix that her character is someone who “has spent her life dedicated to narrative” and hasn’t spent much time “looking at deep truth” within herself. “She is at a turning point in her life where she is looking for a softening and deeper understanding, and she finds it in a love story,” the Big Little Lies star shared.

The Oscar-winning actress said it was “the exploration of identity and self-worth within relationships” within an “intellectually charged” world that drew her to the film, as did exploring the “dynamic between the younger man and the older, established writer,” which is about finding someone who truly sees you more than just romance, “which is something deeply human and relatable.”

Hemsworth told the streamer that starring opposite Dern was “an absolute privilege,” praising her “remarkable talent for drawing you in, making every moment feel intimate and real.” 

Dern likewise had nothing but kind words for The Hunger Games star. “Liam was pure magic,” Dern said. “He became not only a buddy and a confidant through our Moroccan adventure, but our shared longing [for] honesty and intimacy in all relationships was very moving to me. We were very aligned, so getting to tell this story together meant the world … and he is friggin’ hilarious, so I laughed the entire time.”

Lonely Planet also stars Diana Silvers, Younès Boucif, Adriano Giannini and Rachida Brakni. Grant produces alongside Sarah Timberman and Liza Chasin for 3dot Productions, with Brendan Ferguson, Corinne Weber, and Margaret Chernin serving as executive producers.