The Weekend Away Review: Leighton Meester’s vacation thriller is predictable and only worth watching once

Leighton Meester took the world by storm with her role in ‘Gossip Girl.’ The series catapulted her to stardom, and she has since demonstrated her acting abilities in a variety of other projects. However, the actress is gearing up to enthral audiences once more in the upcoming thriller film, ‘The Weekend Away.’ The film, which is based on Sarah Alderson’s book of the same name, follows two friends, Beth (Meester) and Kate (Christina Wolfe), as they plan a vacation in Croatia. They planned to see a lot of sights and have a good time. Beth’s husband’s name is Rob, and the couple recently had a child together.  Kate, on the other hand, is a single woman who recently divorced her boyfriend Jay. The ladies reunite after a long separation and simply want to have fun together. Kate and her closest friend stay in a luxurious AirBnB. She pays the bills with her ex-boyfriend Jay’s credit card, which he is completely unaware of. Everything is turned upside down when Beth discovers Kate has vanished. She assumed she left with the boys they met at the pub, but she becomes concerned when she finds no trace of her friend.

Interestingly, The Weekend Away doesn’t waste time addressing Kate’s absence; she’s gone before the 15-minute mark, and Beth is worried. One would think Farrant would dive right into this perplexing mystery, but The Weekend Away takes a more deliberate approach. The tempo is erratic, with a slower start that eventually gives way to quick turns. Beth eventually pieced together some elements from the night before — which she can’t remember, much to her chagrin — but the first steps forward in her investigation are only possible because she has Zain (their driver) to help her.

Moving on, Beth immediately reports a missing person to Croatian police, who are unconcerned about a lady who consumes cocaine and drives guys home from clubs. Following that, we learn about some new developments and unexpected revelations about Kate and Beth’s relationship, as well as a few intriguing side characters. With the way it begins, The Weekend Away immediately captures your attention. There’s an unsettling odour in the air. When Kate goes missing, several characters in the film appear suspicious. A murder mystery fanatic, on the other hand, will immediately deduce who the perpetrator is. I even predicted the cause of all of this tragedy, so too many dangerous distractions hampered the storyline for me.

Leighton Meester steals the show as an actor with an outstanding performance. Even when she is aware that her character is in grave danger, she never lets her guard down. However, I kept thinking throughout the film about how much better the film could have been if Meester had played the more lively Kate and, obviously, if we had gotten to know her as more than a sad party girl. While this film will almost certainly end up on Netflix’s Top 10 list this weekend and may even become a hot topic online, it owes a lot more to its incredible lead.

Furthermore, there are no head-scratching moments in the film. It has some breathtaking Croatian scenery that may entice you to visit. However, as a murder mystery, it is tedious and lacks even one moment of perplexity.