The idea that suppressing emotions would be the answer to all life's problems, with people living harmoniously and being left content, is a plot device that seems to be cropping up more than expected. But thankfully each iteration focuses on certain aspects that at least have a familiar but different feel. Turn Me On offers something new. In losing your emotions, you also lose your memories when taking the magic pill, or in this case, vitamin. But there is more to this story than at first meets the eye.

Living in a closed-off community where residents take a daily vitamin which eradicates all emotions, Joy (Bel Powley) skips her daily dose. Going on an emotional journey of discovery, she convinces her partner William (Nick Robinson) to stop taking the vitamin. Together, their world opens up, but also exposes them to not only the damage emotions can cause, but also leaves them in a precarious position within the community with strict rules.

In this particular society, placed in the story as a possible ideal and way for people to escape their past; by taking the vitamin, you become emotionless and forget your woes and worries. In the first scene, we see a recruit enter ‘Our Friends' willingly, hesitating for a second before allowing this new community to burn their earthly possessions, which includes a photo of a happy couple. With just this one item and the recruit's state of emotion, we already know what kind of place it is we're entering. Turn Me On is a cross between Equals (which Bel Powley was also in) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But instead of an investigation into what brought her to this community/cult-like place, his is a story about connection, why emotions are more than just a hindrance, but interestingly an argument for removing them in the first place.

The tender romance that builds up throughout, as well as the focus on the continuing curiosity from Joy, is as her name suggests, a rebellious joy to watch. As these characters don't remember anything, each step towards some kind of normal behaviour—from being truthful about how boring their jobs are, to re-learning how to and what sex feels like—is filled with amusing moments. But as always, the key here is the connections between the characters. The fragile balance is made abundantly clear just how stressful it can be to navigate, not just your own feelings but to carefully tread around others. The group of six couples, who were randomly paired, perfectly encapsulates the society they've been all, most likely, trying to escape previously.

Where Turn Me On falters is in its simplicity. As the vitamin strips away personality, imagination, and curiosity, this leaves the majority of the characters for quite a large portion of the film with little to do. Luckily Bel Powley and Nick Robinson share a sweet delicate chemistry, so there's something to watch develop. Having the other characters experience more may have been a strategic choice to not let the focus pull too far from the main couple, but in doing so creates a strange vacuum that more character development could have filled. It also feels as if there was a narrative sacrifice in choosing not to look further into the mysterious ‘Our Friends' community in favour of the film being more about the people and the importance of emotions. There was scope for more here, especially in such a fascinating environment, and it's a loss not to find out more.