Day #24 - The Half Of IT

Ellie Chu is shy and introverted. She's also a fantastic writer, and other students pay her to write their essays which, in turn, helps her keep the lights on for her dad. One day, Paul Munsky asks her to write a love letter for him to the beautiful Aster Flores - except he doesn't know that Ellie likes her too.

This is such a beautiful film. There are so many themes which are covered so well; the overwhelming nature of teenage love in high school, the complexities of LGBT love when you're young and still trying to figure out who you are (and living in a small American Christian town), and the hardship that immigrant families face in America, specifically Chinese immigrants. At its heart, this is a story about soulmates and whether you can find them at such a young age.

Unlike a lot of teenage romance films, each character is so complex. They aren't just assigned "jock" or "nerd" or "popular girl" - the film may introduce them this way, but as it carries on you get shown all these tiny details that make each character real and unique. Yes, the popular girl is pretty, but did you also know that she is a great artist and she adores books? Yes, the jock is good at sports, but did you know his passion lies in inventing new foods? Yes, the nerd is intelligent and can write a great essay, but did you know she can write a beautiful song too? You get to learn so much about these characters in such a small space of time that you almost can't believe this film is less than two hours long.

​This film made me feel so many emotions. It's funny, it's sweet, it made me cry a lot. It is wonderful.

Netflix got it right with this one.