Five-star stunner The Half of It a whole delight
Review The Half of It (7+, 105 mins) Directed by Alice Wu Reviewed by James Croot ★★★★★
Right from its endearing opening animated sequence, this is a movie guaranteed to charm its way into your heart.
A high-school teen comedy that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Easy A, Booksmart, The Edge of Seventeen and Juno.
It’s a film that feels both timeless and timely, filled with compelling, complicated characters, smart, erudite dialogue and universal struggles viewers of all ages and walks of life can relate to.
At its heart, writer-director Alice Wu’s (2004’s Saving Face) Cyrano De Bergerac-infused tale is the story of expert introvert Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis). A straight-A student and church organ player, the Chinese immigrant lives with her dad at Squahamish’s railway station, where she, rather than he, performs most of his duties as signalman and station master.
Interaction with her fellow teens in the small town is minimal, save for her burgeoning trade in ghostwriting essays. That is, until the school’s second string tight end asks Ellie if she’ll diversify her services.
Paul Munksy (Daniel Diemer), the fourth-in-line to the town’s butchery empire, has fallen hopelessly in love with Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire). There’s just a few issues.
Firstly, she’s the local pastor’s daughter. Secondly, she’s already going out with the wealthy Carson Gravel heir Trig (Wolfgang Novogratz). And thirdly, he’s never ever spoken to her.
At first, Ellie point-blank refuses to assist in penning a missive. ‘‘A letter is personal, it’s got to be authentic. Use a spellcheck, get a thesaurus, Romeo.’’ However, with Paul willing to pay cash up front and Ellie facing a house without power unless she pays off three months overdue electricity bill in the next 24 hours, a somewhat reluctant bargain is struck.
What follows, as Ellie’s opening voiceover is at pains to point out, isn’t a love story, ‘‘or at least not one where anybody gets what they want’’. Instead, it’s a winning celebration of friendship, a paean to the seemingly lost art of letter writing, and a movie that will pluck your heartstrings and tickle your funny bone.
What other recent movie quotes Camus and Wilde, while also extolling the virtues of Taco sausages and yoghurt drink Yakult? Where characters discuss the merits of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, watch Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire and debate whether a date should be a discussion of repressed British literature and abstract art, or simply enjoying burgers, fries and a shake together?
Wu weaves all of these together in such a pitch perfect and magical way, you’ll find yourself fully invested and absorbed in the fates of all three of the main characters. That’s also thanks to winning performances, particularly from Diemer (The Man in the High Castle) and the outstanding Lewis (Nancy Drew).
Throw in a crowdpleasing The Graduate-inspired dramatic crescendo and a clutch of classic 70s heartwrenching ballads by the likes of John Denver, Chicago and Gordon Lightfoot and The Half of It is exactly the kind of fulsome feelgood movie everyone needs right now.
A cut way above Netflix’s usual rom or com fare, it offers love and life in all its messy, horrible and selfish glory.
The Half of It is screening now on Netflix.