Lonely Planet is the new romantic drama on Netflix that is about two strangers who meet in a foreign land. They seem to be of differing personalities in the beginning, but as the story progresses, both of them have one thing in common: loneliness and a sense of abandonment. Apart from them, there’s a whole host of other characters in the film, and this article will describe their roles in it.Â
Spoilers Ahead
Katherine Loewe
Actor par extraordinaire Laura Dern is the successful author Katherine Loewe, who is going through tough times on the personal front. She is going through a painful divorce, and her ex has asked her to vacate the house they lives in. Katherine accepts a last-minute invite to a writer’s retreat in Marrakesh, Morocco. She was running late on submitting the completed draft of her seventh book to the publisher.
Katherine wants some peace and quiet in her life. She runs into Owen during her stay at the hotel, the venue of the writer’s retreat. Initially, they seem to have nothing in common, including their age. Katherine was much older than him, yet they somehow synced and made their stay in the city memorable. Their worry was that the friendship they have built should not turn into something romantic, as Owen was already committed. Katherine has her own wounds to heal, and she finds comfort in Owen’s company as they open up about their lives. Katherine and Owen could fall in love, but the obstacle is her work and Owen’s girlfriend. How will they navigate through this maze for the film?Â
Owen
Liam Hemsworth as Owen is a realtor who is having a hard time fitting in among his girlfriend’s peers in Marrakesh, Morocco. His girlfriend, Lily Kemp, found success as a first-time author and has been invited to a writer’s retreat. He is not interested in reading books because of his full time work. Despite him being the complete opposite of his girlfriend, he is not inconsiderate of her line of work. He agreed to make this trip because he wants to spend time with her and be supportive of her endeavors. However, he feels left out on reaching the hotel, as Lily wants to spend most of her time with her peers. Owen, when he tries to get along with her, is admonished by Lily, which puts him in a bad mood.Â
Owen is not the kind of man who is as insecure about his girlfriend’s success as she makes him out to be. He ends up finding company in Katherine, an author herself, because both are battling something called loneliness. Owen’s initial interaction with her is awkward; however, they grow close as friends during their brief stay in Morrocco. As the movie progressed, it was easy to see that both would be falling for each other. How he will make his life less complicated is what makes the crux of the Lonely Planet.
Lily Kemp
Diana Silvers is Lily Kemp, a first-time author who received laurels for her book. As a result, she is invited to a writer’s retreat in Marrakesh, Morocco. This is the place where all the accomplished authors from around the world descend. Lily feels she is finally being validated and is carried away by the attention being showered on her by her fellow peers. Lily is joined by her boyfriend Owen, who has little to do with her line of work. He, however, joins her as a supportive partner.
As Lily gets involved in the writers’ retreat, she is mesmerized to meet different kinds of people and learn about their struggles and personalities. Lily, however, realizes Owen is distancing himself from her, and she mistakes it for his insecurity. Owen disagrees with how she views it, but she moves ahead with that assumption without having any conversation with him. Lily also berates him in front of her peers without realizing Owen never had much knowledge about her line of work. Lily is new to the fame and spotlight, and it is slowly taking its toll on her relationship with Owen.Â
Rafih
Younes Boucif, as Rafih, is the Libyan author who is also invited to the writer’s retreat in Morocco. He introduces himself as a fan of Lily’s book, and right from the start he starts to hog her attention. He made sure Lily spent most of her time in Morrocco with him and whisked her away in the world of authors. There are different kinds of people who show up at the writer’s retreat, and Rafih’s niche was that he was in the Libyan child army and wrote a book based on his experiences in his home country growing up. Rafih also begins to question Owen’s line of work, which involves him having to deal with property that has coal and other kinds of ores. Owen and Rafih did not get along, but they never conversed much after his jibe towards his work.Â
Fatema Benzakour
Rachida Brakni, as Fatema Benzakour in Lonely Planet, is the owner of the hotel that is hosting the writer’s retreat. She goes out of her way to make every author comfortable. She also wrote off an author just to accommodate Katherine Loewe at the last moment. Fatema Benzakour comes across as a progressive woman who is inclusive of every kind of person that has arrived for the retreat. She is keen on making sure all the guests are treated as if they are home. When Katherine and Owen are stranded, Fatema goes out of her way to make sure they are treated well. She and her staff give Katherine options on where to work in case she is not willing to be inside the hotel room. Fatema is a brilliant host, and everyone seems to like her.Â