The Half of It Netflix -Review

With The Half of It, Netflix debuts its 2d young grownup retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac in such a lot of years, following 2018’s Sierra Burgess is a Loser. But wherein Sierra flipped the gender of the story’s leads, The Half of It brings a queer storyline into this high college-set reinvention of the classic story. Written and directed with the aid of Alice Wu. The Half of It follows a instantly-A pupil who writes papers for her classmates to make extra cash. She gets employed by using a football player to write a letter to the lady he is in love with, however she has feelings for the woman as properly. The Half of It places a queer YA spin on a conventional romance story, but Wu makes it her own – turning in a fascinating, candy and altogether heartfelt film.

Ellie Chu  is a loner without a buddies, but a booming black market essay writing gig at her high school while she’s approached by means of lovesick jock Paul Munsky  to help him write a love letter to the woman of his goals: Aster Flores. Ellie and Paul end up near friends as they’re working together to woo Aster, with the lovely jock breaking down most of the partitions Ellie has positioned up over time of being an outsider in their small town. But as each Ellie and Paul’s emotions for Aster deepen, the 3 teenagers form a love triangle with a view to pressure each of them to confront their views on love and relationships.

Though The Half of It is ostensibly a youngster rom-com, it’s also a coming of age tale for Ellie as she discovers what it manner to be in love – what it method for her to be in love – and the way to stay her existence to the fullest. Wu’s tale gives an exceptionally properly-crafted arc approximately a queer teen who’s coming to phrases with their sexuality in a tale it’s lots extra nuanced than a few other mainstream movies approximately LGBTQ young people. Ellie doesn’t talk about her sexuality with a sincere absurdness of a person tons older. She’s hesitant, however her sexuality is not buried in subtext – it’s a sensitive stability that Wu walks superbly. The story of The Half of It can be recognizable to visitors as a retelling of Cyrano, and the approaching of age issue of the film makes it universally relatable, however Ellie’s story line is one not often seen in Hollywood movies. Thanks to Wu’s script and direction, it is not only an crucial tale, however a compelling one.

Helping to carry Wu’s story to lifestyles is the younger forged, the core trio of which do maximum of the heavy lifting – even though Collin Chou supplies a warmly compelling assisting performance as Ellie’s father Edwin Chu. Still, for the maximum element it is Lewis, Diemer and Lemire sporting The Half of It, and they achieve this with grace and deftness. Lewis is specially fascinating to watch as Ellie, who struggles to learn what love is thru her relationships with Paul and Aster. It’s no longer often that teens in films actually experience like teenagers (though it is extra not unusual now), however Lewis captures the awkwardness and uncertainty of a teen notably properly. Similarly, Diemer’s Paul is the charmingly open foil to Ellie’s extra guarded personality. The are sweet to look at, and their friendship easily turns into the emotional coronary heart of the movie. While Lemire is given barely much less to work with, she brings a much-needed intensity and heat to Aster to help tie the film’s emotional issues collectively.

With The Half of It, Wu’s modern film joins the roster of Netflix romantic comedies – mainly its YA rom-coms. Though it can be in comparison to Sierra Burgess is a Loser for adapting the equal tale or To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before for having an Asian-American lead, The Half of It units itself aside as a uniquely touching story of young love and self-cognizance. Perhaps what The Half of It shares most with these different Netflix releases is that it probable would not have been made or released underneath the standard studio-theatrical model, which would had been a shame. Wu’s imaginative and prescient for her Cyrano retelling brings a completely sparkling and beautiful spin to the traditional together with her heartfelt story of a queer teen learning approximately romantic love and the platonic love of friendship.

As such, The Half of It is sincerely well worth finding out for all of us inquisitive about teen rom-coms, queer love testimonies and/or coming of age memories. Wu’s filmmaking sensibilities assist to set the film other than other youngster-geared romance films, even as her script tells a tale no longer often visible in Hollywood, specifically in movies made for young adults. The Half of It will be an important movie for visitors who specially relate to Ellie, but Wu depicts Ellie’s tale in this sort of manner that it may be relatable to all audiences. So Netflix customers searching out a brand new film to look at, specially one with issues of affection and desire, may not move incorrect with The Half of It.