Cinema Saturday
Representation is all the rage, though it should have been since the beginning. The Half of It is making up for lost time in being a movie that not only covers those much needed bases but does so without pandering or making industry representation the sole purpose of the story. In fact, it almost has nothing to do with it. It’s just a story, told from the point of view of people and cultures that are not always heard from. In her second time around in the director’s seat, Alice Wu brings yet another tale to the screens in what will hopefully afford her more opportunities to do so.
A different kind of love story’ is the tagline of The Half of It and truer words could not be spoken about it. Teen love flicks have been done to death and will likely continue as each new generation comes through
‘A different kind of love story’ is the tagline of The Half of It and truer words could not be spoken about it. Teen love flicks have been done to death and will likely continue as each new generation comes through, but this one has definitely not been done before. It centres on Ellie Chu, a Chinese-American wiz-teen writer who makes money on the side by writing essays for other students. She meets Paul Munsky, who like other students wants to pay her to write, but not an essay. He enlists her help in writing love letters to his crush Aster, who barely knows he exists and is actually dating someone else. Though she reluctantly agrees to help and grows fond of him, things change when she starts to develop an unconventional relationship with Aster through the letters, with Aster believing that she’s talking to Paul.
The movie does a stellar job of including the culture of immigrant families without the need to make it the key focus, ergo, it’s just ‘there’. The editing and style of shooting it was also clever, in integrating the texts between the characters and placing them on screen so the audience is almost seeing it from their point of view. The writing is honest and the directing is sound, both to be attributed to Alice Wu as she has not done a film in roughly sixteen years though the viewer would never know that by seeing the movie and its production quality. Leah Lewis as ‘Ellie’ does well in her first lead in a feature, and her chemistry with Daniel Diemer (Paul) gives the movie a fun and sometimes awkward boost. Alexxis Lemire is also more than capable in her role as ‘Aster’, playing up the classic ‘girl next door’ vibe whilst also showcasing a freshness and range of different emotions.
If one thing hasn’t been made clear, it’s this: Alice Wu should not stop making movies. It’s all but a crime that she has not done so, and the reasons are unknown. Perhaps she’s a perfectionist? She’s written and directed both movies, so it’s possible that she truly does just take time to get them right. It could even be that mediums like Netflix weren’t there for her when she started. They are now, and it’s currently streaming so take a look and enjoy.
