The Half of It (2020)

The Half of It (2020)

PG-13

netflix

An atmospheric romance that starts with “this is not a love story"

7.3

Movie

United States of America
English, Mandarin
Comedy, Drama, Romance
2020
ALICE WU, FEMALE DIRECTOR
Alec Tincher, Alexxis Lemire, Becky Ann Baker
104 min

What it's about

Shy, straight-A student Ellie is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul, who needs help wooing the most popular girl in school. But their new and unlikely friendship gets tricky when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl.

The take

This lovely romance is about Ellie, a straight-A student who takes money from a classmate, Paul, to write love letters for him. Ellie does this to help with the household bills but there is one big problem: the girl Paul is in love with is also the girl Ellie has a crush on.

This might seem like the set-up for a standard Netflix comedy (and if you’re thinking Bergerac, you’re right, it is based on the famous play) but as the introduction of the film reads: “This is not a love story … not one where anyone gets what they want."

It is in fact, personal work from a brilliant and quality-focused director, Alice Wu. Her last movie, Saving Face, a pioneering lesbian romance set in an Asian American context, was released a long 15 years ago.

Comments

This was a good one. I love all stories where any of the main characters is a cyclist. An easy watch. 5/5 would recommend.

A great romance. Beautifully scripted and acting was top-notch, thanks to the team for suggesting this epic classic :).

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