Netflix Movie
Directed by : Alice Wu
Produced by : Anthony Bregman, M. Blair Breard. Alice Wu
Written by : Alice Wu
Starring : Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Collin Chou
Distributed by: Netflix
Year: 2020
A surprise package!
Was browsing through Netflix and thanks to its autoplay option, the trailer got starred. I have to admit that at first, it seemed like just another teenage rom-com based in an American high school. But then there must be something that stroke the chord as saved it in ‘My List’.
So, this evening while deciding what to watch, after some flip-flops pressed the play button for this movie as it was of less than 2 hours and didn’t feel like something serious. For the first few minutes, in parallel, was browsing through Instagram on my mobile but then heard a few amazing lines and I couldn’t stop being hooked to the other screen (TV).
Let me tell you, I am not familiar with the earlier works of Alice Wu but after watching this movie I can vouch for her directorial and writing ability. She has brilliantly utilized some amazing quotes from different writers from different parts and era. But what astonishes you is the way she has written the script. It’s like most of the lines spoken in the movie is a quote in itself. You start to write them down and you find yourself in great difficulty as you will have to pause-unpause a lot. The entire letter exchange sequence is simply mesmerizing. In fact, the content of the letters were so beautiful that one would flow in love.
“When one is in love one begins by deceiving oneself.
And one ends by deceiving others.
That is what the world calls a romance.”
– Oscar Wilde
The movie is like a well knitted sweater, tightly woven but enough space for some fresh air, and the final product not only looks good but also provides you enough warmth. Kudos to the writer-director, Alice Wu.
It must be a very close project for Alice Wu and the cast has played a great part in making her dream shape into reality. Leah Lewis as the protagonist of the movie is brilliant. She is at peace with the character and hence all you find is a soothing ease in her performance throughout the movie. It seems like she was born to play Ellie Chu. Alexxis Lemire as Aster is like a fresh and cool breeze in the movie and whenever she is on the screen, she demands your attention. Her portrayal of Aster who is swinging between surety and confusion is equally appreciable. Collin Chou didn’t require many words to show his strong presence in the story. Last but not the least and the most entertaining performance for me was by Daniel Diemer as Paul Munsky. You watch him closely and you will start finding value in dumbness. Who wants to be wise when being slow is so beautiful 🙂
Image courtesy : https://www.netflix.com/
I am glad that I came across this movie and I somehow decided to save it in ‘My List’ and then finally decided to watch it.
There is a line (read quote) in the movie that says –
“The good thing about being different in a town like this,
is that no one expects you to be like them.”
The same happened with this movie. There were no great expectations from the movie and that’s why it surprised me like anything and was refreshingly beautiful. Reminds me of a tweet that I posted sometime back –
“A problem is nothing but an expectation gone wrong.
Expectation is the mother of all problems.”
Definitely going to watch “the half of it”.
Beautifully narrated and left me with an eagerness to watch the movie.