As someone who read the original book first, I wasn't sure what to expect from this film. I think they actually based it on the sequel more than the original (the original is the story told from A's perspective and the sequel is from Ri's perspective). I'm a bit disappointed we didn't get to see more from A's perspective but I guess they needed an anchor and that was Ri.
I'm glad to see there are so many positive reviews on it though, and possibly from people who didn't read the book first. I thought people would just be super confused by this story, but I'm glad it translated to film well. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. It is a very interesting read and makes you think about love and being open to loving all types of people. (I haven't gotten to the sequel yet though.) I wish the movie had focused on that a bit more and portrayed Ri's struggle a bit more. I honestly didn't picture Ri as a popular, attractive girl from the way the book painted her, so I feel like they changed a lot there too.
I'm still on the fence on whether I really liked the movie or not, but I do still love the book!
Review by pygospaVIP 3BlockedParent2019-01-07T00:15:30Z
This movie is extremely hard to rate, as every word on the story will give away all the fun. You also probably shouldn't watch the trailer and additionally you shouldn't look up the other movie posters as they contain spoilers as well.
The only story you can know: "Rhiannon is a ~15 year old girl that is in an one-sides relationship with her boyfriend Justin. However, one day she gets to know a guy who turns around her entire life".
If you know me you also know that I don't have much love for romantic movies and romantic comedies and even less so if they are teenage romances (or romantic comedies). So it came as an absolute surprise to myself, that I actually liked this movie - which is due to its really strange and unusual story. This absurd idea makes the entire story totally interesting - however it is just revealed in the last third of the movie - two thirds you sit there and keep asking yourself what you are seeing and why you are seeing it and how this all fits together.
In the end, this isn't a classical teen romance story but touches aspects of the fantasy genre and explores a really strange kind of romance. And it's a really great idea and a great take.
There are a number of weaknesses though. Most of all, I think the movie doesn't explore it's idea deeply enough. The romance part is still the main aspect of the movie, and we get a large number of scenes that just focus on teenage romance. One could have shortened this part just a bit and instead could have gone deeper into the aspect of this personality, into the problems and into what this kind of romance actually means. It especially also has an aspect of unconventional love that could have also found a number of parallels to our modern society.
Also the story telling moves towards banality when getting towards the end, even though I liked the resolution.
To end on a positive note: The cast is really good - all of them young actors who despite lacking the experience are already great actors that probably have a great acting career in front of them.
It's not a movie that you'd had to have seen - still, anyone who loves the genre should definately watch this one as it will give you what you love but yet also give it an entirely new spin on things.