I Don’t Understand You Review: Wild Comedy-Horror 

I Don’t Understand You follows an American couple who celebrate their anniversary in Rome but slowly realise it isn’t the dream trip that they planned.

The pair arrive in Rome, all loved-up, ready for a few days of exquisite food and gorgeous sights. Unbeknownst to them, it’s about to be a bumpier ride than expected, when their hire car gets stuck in the mud past a private property sign neither of them saw. 

At the heart of screenwriter and director duo David Joseph Graig and Brian Crano’s I Don’t Understand You is a story of love between two men who long for a child. They feel fulfilled in their relationship, constantly finding new ways to surprise one another, but there’s an empty hole still. When they were scammed by their previous surrogate, it put immense amounts of pressure on them. They had to close the door to the half-decorated room in their house, a space that was meant to be for their child, something that was taken away from them in a mean spirited act by a stranger. 

Now, they hold all their hope with Candice, maybe putting too much pressure on another stranger to make them parents. Regardless, this is what they want. If they don’t continue to keep the faith, how else will they start the family they’re longing for? 

Whilst it’s Dom and Cole’s romantic tale that opens I Don’t Understand You, the film takes a turn, because hey, why can’t a couple just have an easy going anniversary? The two clearly aren’t up to driving in a foreign country as neither can communicate with the residents of Italy or even read the road signs, despite Dom keeping his Duolingo streak intact before their trip. At a first hunch, the title of the film seemed to have alluded to the nature of Dom and Cole’s relationship, and how it might have been on the rocks, but in fact, it’s clear that it’s just because they don’t understand a single word of Italian. 

One mistake, like driving onto private countryside land whilst trying to find a restaurant, might just cost them their lives. The pair is picked up by a random man, who they think is roadside assistance, and dropped off at a dark farmhouse in the rain. It’s not long before Dom and Cole are fighting for their lives, in a weirder way than you may think (no spoilers here!). A love story turns into a comedy-horror in a blink of an eye, with more bloodshed than one could have ever expected from a film about a couple’s road to starting a family. 

Maybe it’s all a bit too much at times, narratively speaking. It tries to fit too much into a little space of time. It can be a comedy-horror; in fact, it should relish in being two genres successfully at times, too. But, it tends to lose track of what happened just five minutes ago, trying to lead it into a thriller with clues dropped here and there, like blood dripping on Cole from the overhead locker on the plane, or Dom’s family friend gifting the pair a knife each (which both are examples of explained clues, the ones which are unresolved are forgotten by both the audience and the writers).

The allure of comedy could just insist that it’s the wackier the better. However, it doesn’t justify why half the things that unfold needed to happen to move the story along. There are a lot of loose ends, and potentially it’s just not a believable storyline. Often, it feels very uncomfortable to watch, which could, and will, be someone’s preference, but here, it’s too much. 

Kroll and Rannells are funny, as always, with more or less enough chemistry to make their relationship believable. As far as the comedy aspects are concerned, it’s solid. And by the end, you get the brief glimpses of horror that make it a favourable duo genre movie. Something still feels missing, like a bigger thing was meant to go wrong. At the climax, though, you just want the best for Dom and Cole, and you have to give it credit for fleshing out the characters enough to make you care for them. 

I Don’t Understand You will be released in US and Canadian theatres on June 6, 2025.