All The Bright Places

 

All The Bright Places is a coming of age love story based on the Jennifer Niven novel of the same name. It is the story of Violet and Theodore, high school students, who are on different sides of the social spectrum. When paired up for a high school project they find the beauty in the most unexpected of places including within each other’s hearts.

The cinematography was full of beautiful rustic, rural shots. The themes around love, loss, undiagnosed mental health and the stigmas surrounding mental illness and bullying were all powerful and prevalent throughout.

The character development was strong and really connects you to these characters who are both battling mental illness demons. Elle Fanning stole the show for me. She is a terrific actress and really brought all the emotions for her role of Violet, the popular girl with a dry sense of humor who is confident but struggling with survivors’ remorse. Justice Smith also did a superb job as Theodore Finch, a kid who was considered a freak by his classmates, but deep down he was just a quirky, kind, young man who struggled expressing himself and connecting with his family. They both played well off of each other and you really wanted to root for them.

The script was really well written and pulled at the heartstrings. I appreciated that the writer took the time to attempt an honest conversation about mental health and what can happen when mental illnesses goes undiagnosed. My only critique was that there was a bit of a gap with how some of the scenes connected at the end. I think it would have been helpful for the writer and director to stick closer to the book and have included those missing scenes because it would have helped to further understand the character of Finch.

Even with that minor critique, All The Bright Places is a fantastic film, full of heart and quite the tear jerker. Get tissues for this one. You’ll need it.