Review: The Half Of It

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Love is messy.

Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) writes papers for her classmates for money. When her father doesn't pay their electric bill, Ellie accepts an offer from her classmate, Paul. (Daniel Diemer) He's in love with Aster (Alexxis Lemere) and wants help writing a love letter. Ellie is also secretly in love with Aster, and that love begins to flow through letters that are supposed to be coming from Paul.

As I get older, it's getting more and more rare that a film centered and marketed around teenagers looks interesting to me. Every now and then something like Euphoria, or Kings of Summer, or The Spectacular Now comes along and surprises me, but it's just not something I seek out. When the trailer auto played on Netflix, I thought it sounded different enough to give it a shot.

I really liked this. It's not free of a few cringey moments and plot devices but Ellie is a truly intriguing person to follow. Circumstances have made her highly cynical, but she thinks deeply about everything which I adored. Plus her pairing with Paul and their friendship was really sweet to watch blossom. I feel like a lesser film would've turned this into a regular "girl falls for best friend" type story, but by having Ellie like Aster instead made it feel fresh.

Lewis is an excellent anchor to this film and Diemer was very sweet. Paul isn't the brightest character but Diemer plays him so earnestly that it's not a nuisance seeing him on screen. Lemere doesn't get the most to do, but you can see why Ellie and Paul are both drawn to her. 

This is easily one of the better Netflix films I've watched lately. (Another one is Been So Long, which I reviewed recently) It's definitely worth your time, just bring tissues. If you're a wuss like me, you'll probably cry.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B+

Memorable Quote: "You can't out run a train, this guy's a moron." - Ellie (Leah Lewis)

Comments

  1. GetterMay 23, 2020 at 9:49 AM

    I started this and didn't finish. I don't think I even got really far. It's not that it's not good but I just... don't know what happened with this one. :D I will finish it for sure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 24, 2020 at 10:17 AM

      I hope you like it. I haven't watched many of Netflix's teen movies, just this and To All The Boys I've Loved Before and I liked this one far better.

      Delete

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