The Half of It Review: An Exceptionally Feel-Good Coming-of-Age Drama!

Before I start giving my thoughts on the exceptionally beautiful coming-of-age dramedy – The Half of It, let me preface by asking, how does it feel to love, and be loved? How does it feel to watch a movie, which is remarkable, enjoyable, and make you feel genuinely happy by the very end? If only I were able to put in words about how I feel right now after watching this beautiful poetry, I would love to call The Half of It poetry rather than a film.

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Poetry is a composition of words that stirs our imagination, emotions, and expresses something that we are unable to convey through words. The Half of It written and directed by Alice Wu is no less than poetry. It stars Leah Lewis in the lead role, and Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, and Collin Chou as the supporting cast.

If you glanced through my recent Netflix Original series ‘Never Have I Ever’ review, you would’ve noticed me complain about how creators are making coming-of-age romantic comedies look absurd. Most of the high school romcoms, excluding a few, display teenagers in a bad light who are notorious for making bad decisions. And when I first watched the trailer of The Half of It, I had similar notions, but director Alice Wu surprised me from the beginning till the end.

Set in a calm, quiet and serene town of Squahamish, the narrative of The Half of It is about a high school teen, Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), an introvert whom her classmates approach to pen their essays, but at the end of the day, she gets bullied for her name and her Asian ethnicity. Ellie Chu never objects against people bullying her, makes money through her scholastic skill, and lives a secluded life with her father Edwin (Collin Chou), who is the station master of Squahamish.

Eventually, she gets approached by Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) to write love letters on behalf of him to Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire), the girl they both love. But, she reluctantly agrees to help him out, and the rest of the story explores how these three characters embark on a journey forming a love-triangle, and friendship and come to terms with their feelings about love.

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More on the theme of the narrative, coming-of-age stories aren’t always about characters hanging out together or making out when no one’s around. Only a select few writers/directors deeply explored the genre, writing characters by giving them utmost importance to their emotional needs, ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ to quote an example for. Alice Wu took the utmost care in structuring the storyline and did not make it utterly predictable through and through.

The movie is calm and composed like a river. When you watch it from the riverside, you see unwavering water, but only if you take a deep dive you can notice a whole bunch of aquatic beings leading a slow, peaceful life. Subsequently, only when you divulge into a movie like The Half of It, you can comprehend what Alice Wu is trying to convey, is far away from an easy explanation. Like I said earlier, it is poetry whose interpretation is in the way you perceive it.

Anton Sanko scores some remarkable music for the film. And with top-notch storytelling elevating the film to a whole another level, you would require some mellow music to perfectly blend with the narrative. Anton Sanko sized up these requirements and fulfills them with his euphonious, light, and warm music. Greta Zozula’s camera work is commendable as she captures the locales of the Squahamish astonishingly.

The performances from the lead star as well as the supporting cast are outstanding inside and out. Especially Leah Lewis as Ellie Chu with her nerdy, lonely, and quiet looks portrays her character exactly how Alice Wu wanted. Collin Chou as her father, was silent and spoke through his acting exceptionally in one particular scene.

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Overall, The Half of It is a unique, one of a kind film, where everything miraculously seems to be perfect. You have a distinct narrative, music that blends in with the story, and actors complementing it with their excellent performances. The Half of It is nothing short of perfection and one of the very few movies that managed to affect me deeply, not with the storyline but the way it all came together as one. Watch ‘The Half of It’ on Netflix here.

Rating – 4/5 | Grade – A

Images via Netflix

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