The Half of It (2020)

I think one of the things I appreciated about The Half of It, the latest adaptation of the Cyrano concept, is the way it gets us to see into the perspectives of each of the parts of the triangle. Often this story is told from Cyrano's perspective, we are him, and Roxanne is the object of affection, we are to love her, while Christian, the symbol of everything Cyrano is not, is derided and we are to resent him. But this take twists that so that we get to be in the shoes of each character and in doing so we get a more complex understanding of such a love story, and the complicated nature of love that might be a bit more than just the wooing. Perhaps the film's Christian, Paul, is on the dimmer side, but the film still does a good job of getting us to see his perspective too.

Writer/director Alice Wu crafts a script which is full of heart and humour. Teen loves stories fall into common cliches, and this tricked into love story is rife with them, but she skirts the potholes here quite deftly either missing them entirely or adapting them to effective use. The story is straight forward and charming but speaks to something lovely about creating who we are and how that relates to others. Turns out Generation Z communication culture is well suited to the Cyrano tale.

So much of The Half of It works due to the cast who are all delightful. Each character is presented first as an archetype who grows into something less expected. Leah Lewis tries to make Ellie awkwardly intense as she slowly grows into someone compassionate and generous. Alexxis Lamire plays Aster as suffering beautiful girl who is so much more than people give her credit for but allows us to see her flaws as well as see beyond her. Daniel Diemer plays his jock cliched character as a bit of a big hearted doofus but he also gets to explore the real person with passions and insights underneath that. The Half of It could have been so much simpler but all involved just bring it up the game and make it that much more satisfying.

Despite the film's rather simple premise, there are certain moments that elevate it. There is a great conversation about believing in God or not which is insightful in the pitfalls of both. I also like how the film wraps up the plot, which is always a bit of a conundrum dealing with how to resolve a relationship built on lies. I especially like the end scene which takes a rom com cliche and makes it into something else, which is lovely and touching. Wu finds a way to make it work realistically which isn't too bleak. And I like how she interweaves the queer and immigrant themes into her story without making anything feel heavy-handed.

The Half of It is a really nice take on this story, filmed with a lovely lush tone in a vague soft Pacific North West atmosphere that feels comforting. It all comes together in a film that can be watched with the whole family and offer everyone something out of it.

The Half of It
Starring: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lamire
Writer/Director: Alice Wu