Young Werther

April 28, 2025

Showings 4:30, 7:00 and 9:10pm

Canada | 2024 | English | Romantic comedy | 101 minutes

Wit and unrequited love are at the core of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 18th-century novella The Sorrows of Young Werther, and those elements are updated and adapted beautifully in this snappy, humorous reimagining, set in modern-day Toronto.

Werther, played by Douglas Booth stumbles across the love of his life only to discover that the young woman is engaged to a successful laywer.

Hurdles continue to pile up against Werther as he suffers in comically escalating situations in his dogged pursuit of romance.

With delightful performances from Booth, Pill, and the rest of the cast, director José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço’s feature debut succeeds in the difficult task of preserving the pertinence of Goethe’s dark and philosophical work in a bright and fun romantic comedy for a modern audience.