Love Score

starring: MARIE DEWITT & CRISTIAN LAGER

When talented tennis player Daphne wins a place at Pacific Crest she soon comes up against tempestuous Jackson Hayworth. When she beats him in a tennis match, sparks fly... and soon a bet is made...

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh this is gooooood. Complex characters, amazing script, lots of drama and genuinely didn't know if Jackson would come through in the end.

It reminded me a little bit of Gossip Girl and recent Amazon Prime YA films, but crucially the central characters are likeable, and never stray too far into toxic

Career best performance by @mariedewitt who I often see in cutesy roles. She is a spitfire here, you believe she has fought to get where she is, survived a lot and aces the tennis scenes. But one of my fave scenes is when she admits how tired of fighting she is, and it is only thanks to bestie Kara that she keeps going

Kara is utterly brilliant.

@isabellajaimie is superb as Melissa, she is a mean girl without ever needing to stomp her foot or flip her hair. It is all in her presence, you can feel the jealousy and hatred radiating off her

@grantholleman_ is great as flip flopping Hugh, stirring up trouble, but doing the right thing when Melissa goes too far even for him

And @cristianlager is the first huge new find for verticals of the year. He nails a really complex character, Jackson is awful for a lot of this story, but we always know there is the potential for him to be a better person, and once we meet his terrifying mum we understand more about why he is who he is.

Together Marie and Cristian explode off the screen. This is why chemistry matters. You can have a super story but if the leads don't have chemistry it can fall flat.

The whole thing is so well written, the script is tight and fresh.

There is proper drama, stakes and emotions at play here, but because the writing is exceptional it stays more grounded and doesn't need to go to lazy slaps or insults. This is crafted much more intelligently with references to classic movies like Carrie and She's All That.

We are given insight into all the characters to understand why they do what they do, every performance is superb, it looks great with the aerial shots of tennis courts and some fast, powerful sports scenes.

Finally we have a beautiful ending that made me cry, when we find out where Daphne's racquet came from.

I can't praise this enough.

💖 Top swoonworthy moment:

This delivers everything - as you are never sure if Jackson will do the right thing, and Daphne is no pushover. Which means their is heat and an intensity to every encounter. We rival She's All That for the it was a bet scene, and the ending is perfection, from the moment Jackson finally gets on that motorbike.

🦹🏼‍♂️ Top villain award:

Bella Jaimie is supreme as Melissa – visceral and memorable. That temper tantrum when she walks through the canteen will not be forgotten. Jackson's mother is also a terrifying creation - one of the most traumatic moments in verticals is the scene with nails in the car.

😂 Comedy gold:

Kara saves the day at the end, with the simplest of tricks, tying Melissa's shoelaces together. Perfectly done thanks to Bella Jaimie falling flat on her face. Also enjoy Grant Holleman as Hugh channeling Chuck Bass, and stirring for the sake of it.

🎺 Unsung hero:

Kara has to be one of the best on screen BFFs in a Vertical. She gives a sh*t about Daphne, calls out everyone else's bad behaviour, and also suffers from Melissa's nastiness - really felt for her when Melissa pulled the new money smell moment. I think her finest moment is being the only person to help Daphne after the Carrie moment at the dance.

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director: Alison Bonn | 2026

Available on My Drama