All The Bright Places (2020) Movie Review

A Successful Adaptation For Sure

                                                                     image by Amazon.com, lnc.

Based on the book with the same title, "All The Bright Places" is a teen drama that goes real hard on the viewer. It has the potential to make a grown, 20 year old, male viewer cry. So general viewer, just be prepared, onions are on the loose.

Starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith, this teen drama doesn't include anything teen-y really. Our heroes, Violet and Finch are just two kid with grown up problems. Movie starts with Violet, standing on the ledge of a bridge, of the bridge actually. Just as she is thinking about jumping, Theodore (Finch, he calls himself) talks her out of it. That's the starting of a doomed friendship, such a shame isn't it? Sharing your first memory with your friend, on the ledge of a bridge. Anyway, they just go back to their normal after that, until they get a school project together, with Finch asking for it. They decide to go to Indiana, to take pictures of it's most weird locations for this project. Yet still, Violet is not happy with getting in a car, for an obvious reason. Her older sister died in a car accident, on the very same bridge Violet was standing on the beginning of the story. Yet again, Finch talks him into the car, leaving Violet's parents rather happy than worried, which is weird, you don't know the guy people! They reach Indiana after a long and pretty quiet road trip. They take pictures in some pretty silly places, and come back from Indiana the day after. The story continues revealing our heroes' pasts and similarities. It turns out our boy Finch is also deep in the mud. Finch is a kid with a past trauma, still causing problems. His room is a total mess, his wall has tons of post-its with words written on them. We later discover that these notes are the phrases, words, and quotes that make him happy, or remember the times he was happy. And that's why I think there's nothing teen-y in there, maybe except for Finch in the mornings, he just runs around the block non-stopped. Finch, feels happy after a long time with Violet, and Violet talks about her sister for the first time in a long time with him.They become friends, maybe, possibly more. But this phase doesn't last for so long.

The movie is not afraid about taking major risks, and shows a fully new way to make a teen romance look natural. It makes the viewer question the nature of love, death and pain. It's really easy to connect with both the story and characters. Finch and Violet becomes a part of your tears. Violet, the popular girl with all the best, most expensive stuff, is just a scared teen on the inside, looking for an exit. And Finch, is still the kid who was a victim of a rough nature, he still has that traumatized mind and he's still scared to get closer to people, that's why he accepts the nickname, freak. Yet in the end, the character development is so good, that although the teens grow together, and fall apart time to time, they still show the viewer their struggle with changing against their past. It's a 107 minutes movie, yet it never feels like a drag. In that perspective, it could be a lesson given to drama producers.

But, there are downs to the movie as well. First of all, the movie is stuck with mental illness a bit so much, so it doesn't achieve to prove its also a romance. Yet still, we must ask ourselves, does that make it bad or a unique love story? Also, some sub-stories were left underdeveloped, like the nature of Violet's relationships, or the Finch's sister's life with him. And at last, I feel like Violet's life after Finch could be bit more open to viewer, it was a bit too mysterious for me, though that can differ, it's a personal opinion.

So, in the end, "All The Bright Places" is surprisingly good. The movie's stars, Fanning and Smith, are just wonderful together in this teen drama. The movie is hardly forgettable and for sure, unique. Even I couldn't find so much downs for this review, so you can just say it's safe to watch this hidden gem,well not so hidden,but definitely a gem. So go get your tissue, it's onion chopping time.

Cinemortals Rating : 8/10

Reviewed By : Batuhan