After the events from one year earlier in Rome, Vivian and Roy return to continue their love story with the new movie, Game of Love (a.k.a Time is Up 2). This time their romance blooms, breaks, and reconciles in the beautiful Sicilian countryside. Though without the desirable locations and some smoky, intimate scenes, the film has nothing to offer new to its audiences. With the lack of substance and innovativeness, added to the horrible performances from the actors, Game of Love becomes nothing but a below-average film.
The film’s writers constantly try to put some non-linear gimmicks into the narrative, which eventually becomes frustrating and dull. But still, those gimmicks manage to give some interesting hooks and raise some thoughts in the viewers’ minds. This article is intended to dig deeper into those exciting aspects. So, be aware that the article will dive into everything in detail and is full of spoilers.
Game of Love (2022) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
The movie opens with some dreamy visuals of a party with cutaways of Vivian (Bella Thorne), Roy (Benjamin Mascolo), and another mysterious woman. After these dreamy and mysterious visions, it takes us back to when Vivian and Roy came to Sicily – Roy’s childhood home. There they met with Roy’s relatives – Laura, his aunt; Concetta, his other aunt; her husband and their little daughter named April. During family lunch, Laura asked Roy about his plans. He told her that he had lost his scholarship and that the primary purpose of his visit was to sell the old ancestorial farmhouse to raise money for his studies.
The next day, while at home alone, Vivian meets with a girl, Anna (Alma Noce), who seemed to have fallen from her bike. Vivian notices the bruises on Anna’s arm and asks her to come home for first aid. They quickly become friends, and Anna invites Vivian to the grape harvest the next day. However, Vivian reveals about their departure the following day, so Anna suggests that she should come with her to explore the countryside right then. Together, they roam around the country and swim in the ocean until they return home to find a worrying Roy confronting them.
Vivian introduces Anna to Roy, but he seemed pretty disinterested in it. Also, he gets quite upset about the friendship between the two girls. He becomes angry and asks Vivian every detail possible about their little adventure from that day. Vivian asked Roy if he was reacting out of jealousy. To which, he replies that he was just curious about them.
The following day, they hurry up to leave when the news breaks that a volcano has erupted, and as a result, all flights have been canceled. Roy gets very upset with that information as he wants to get out of town as soon as possible. Vivian, at the same time, doesn’t care much about it and is quite happy to stay a little longer. As there is no way to return, they stay and help out with the grape harvest.
At the harvest, Vivian and Anna again bond with each other, and she introduces her to her boyfriend, Tony. But at the same time, she (Anna) and Roy exchange strange and suspicious looks with each other.
The following day, when strolling around Roy and Vivian’s room, Laura finds some photographs Roy had snapped. She sends them to her partner Thomas, an art exhibitor. Thomas is impressed by Roy’s photography and asks him for a photo exhibition. Roy gets flattered and gives the news to Vivian. She also got excited but worried about their planned return and her internship back home. Disappointed with this gesture from her, Roy accuses her of being indifferent towards his ‘thing’ (talent) and only thinking about her future.
Meanwhile, precisely at that moment of their fight, Anna and Tony arrive and ask them to go for a hike. Though Roy is not interested, Vivian joyfully accepts the offer for both of them. While hiking, Vivian gets lost from Anna (as they were together all the time) and falls from a cliff. Tony and Roy notice that Anna was rushing towards them. After reaching them, she tells them that she is unable to find Vivian. After hearing that, Roy gets furious and accuses her of abandoning or doing something terrible to her (Vivian). After their initial friction, they all set out to find her, and at last, Roy finds her under a cliff.
This incident eases up their earlier tension. They soon realize their responsibilities to this relationship and try to find a middle ground. Roy tells Vivian that he will ask Thomas to scrap the exhibition idea, and they will leave for their home as soon as possible.
When everybody is out of the house that evening, Roy proposes to Vivian. Flattered by this gesture, she also tells Roy that she would ask for an extension to join the internship program in order to stay for his exhibition as she thinks his photography skills are excellent and he should participate. Roy replies that the show could wait, but he couldn’t live without her for one moment.
Surprisingly, Anna enters the scene with teary eyes to say that she and Tony have had a big fight. Out of courtesy, Vivian asks Roy to go to the party Tony has gone to attend. After reaching there, Anna continuously offers beers to Vivian. With continuous offers, she drinks a lot and comes to the dance floor to start dancing with Roy.
This is where Anna lures her to a private room, and they get undressed (this scene reminisces us of the first scene of the film, and we come to know that the mysterious woman is none other than Anna). While doing so, Vivian notices a tattoo on Anna’s left thigh, similar to one of the tattoos that Roy has, but before she could ask her anything about it, Roy enters the room.
She tried to get intimate with him, but Roy refuses and leaves. Upset with the gesture, Vivian is then comforted by Anna. But we get to know that she also has her plans. She goes to Roy and tries to seduce him. Roy rejected her advances and leaves the scene.
Due to that night’s incidents, some friction occurs between Roy and Vivian. She becomes suspicious after Roy’s mysterious behavior that night and Anna’s matching tattoo. She started to believe that they had something together. This suspicion comes to reality when Anna calls Vivian to the old farmhouse and tells her about their (Roy and her) past relationship as childhood sweethearts. Also, Anna says tells her that she has come into their lives so that she can have Roy back in hers.
Devasted by this revelation, Vivian accuses Roy of having an affair with Anna. Roy tries his best to convince her that Anna was just obsessed with him and they had nothing between them, but Vivian gets very angry for hiding the truth. And, with a bitter note, she leaves the house and called off their engagement.
Game of Love (2022) Movie Ending. Explained:
Do Roy and Vivian end up together?
Later, Roy reveals to his aunt a childhood incident. One day, when he entered the old farmhouse, he saw a man trying to abuse Anna sexually. To save her, he put the barn on fire. Due to that, the man fled, which means he saved her both from the old man and from the fire.
Roy also expresses his pain and disappointment at Vivian’s departure from his life with that revelation. After hearing that, Laura advises him to express his pain through art. Inspired by this, he asked Thomas to put new photos in the exhibition; something new that would be appropriate for his true artistic expression.
Meanwhile, Laura meets Anna and reveals that she knew about her childhood. She tells her that she understands her feelings towards Roy, but she couldn’t get back Roy in life like that. She tells her that everything has changed now and she has to let it all go.
After this meeting, Anna meets Roy at the gallery and discovers that the dark room is filled with Vivian’s photos. She realizes how much Roy loves and cares for Vivian, and that she can’t take her place in Roy’s heart. Realizing it, she encourages Roy to bring Vivian back to his life with his effort.
In the end, Roy comes to Vivian’s hotel and takes her to the gallery after much persuasion. Upon entering the gallery, she finds out that the whole gallery is filled with her photos. She realizes how much Roy loves her and that they can’t be separate from each other. In the end, they kiss and embark on a happy ending.
What is the Reason for Anna’s Obsession with Roy?
Game of Love is a typical story about a love triangle. Between the loving relationship of Vivian and Roy, there lies another third person in the form of Anna. Now, Anna is not a typical antagonist who tries to sabotage the romance between Vivian and Roy. She has reasons to break into their relationship and we come to know about that eventually.
At first, Anna is portrayed as an amiable girl who immediately clicks with Vivian. They like each other and have fun hanging around with each other. But from the beginning, Roy is not happy about this friendship. He always seems very upset whenever Vivian meets with her. From that moment, the director sows seeds of suspicion about the relationship between Anna and Roy into our minds. Do they know each other? Is there anything between them? These questions soon pop up in our minds. This suspicion becomes prevalent as some flashback scenes of Roy’s childhood are often shown, and there is a little girl in all of them.
Towards the film’s end, it is revealed that Roy and Anna were childhood sweethearts. And from there on, Anna can’t forget Roy and is obsessed with him. Her friendship with Vivian and romance with Tony are just some of the things she orchestrates to regain Roy back into her life. But can it be the only reason for any obsession? Just some childhood love involved in the past? Or is there anything more to it?
From Roy’s confession to his aunt, Laura, it is revealed that in their childhood, Roy once saved Anna from sexual abuse. One day, when he was in the farmhouse, he saw a man advancing toward Anna for a sexual favor. He hurriedly put the barn on fire and saved Anna from humiliation.
From that moment, Anna thinks of Roy as her guardian angel. So, she does not want to lose him. After that incident, she has nobody that she can trust. She always wants to be with Roy to feel complete and safe. And that’s why she becomes so obsessed with Roy.
But in the end, she understands how much Roy loves Vivian. She understands she can’t take Vivian’s place in Roy’s heart. So, eventually, she lets her obsession go and tells Roy to bring her back into his life. Finally, Roy brings Vivian back into his life, and they get their happy ending.
