Is it just me or has the romance genre fallen away? There are actresses like Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts, who are renowned for romance in the nineties. Now who? Is it a reflection of a currently cynical world, or just the movie cycle – romance is sitting this decade in the shadows until someone comes along to revitalise it. Yet to view All the Bright Places myself, it looks like it could be a coming-of-age movie, also. Some of the most poignant stories come out of teen drama, and some of my favourites – The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Eighth Grade, Speak, The Reader. That’s a genre that certainly can’t go overlooked. Let’s dive in.
Theodore Finch (Justice Smith) meets Violet Markey (Elle Fanning) standing on a bridge, contemplating jumping down into the dangerous river below. He successfully curbs her off the ledge, and develops an interest in her and her situation. Violet’s sister died in a car accident a few months back, and Violet hasn’t been happy since. Finch asks Violet to be his partner for a class assignment, whereby they have to travel to landmarks around their home-state Indiana, and write about what they mean to them. Finch has a challenge ahead of him, cracking Violet’s tough and depressed exterior, and getting her to like him in return, whilst battling his own secret personal problems as well.
The main reason I’m here is Elle Fanning – she has drawn me into All the Bright Places, and if she has deemed value in making this movie, then I’m here. Fanning is a terrifically competent actress, elevating the simplest of tragic premises to heights. When Violet is sad, it’s horrible – which is effective, if you get my drift. The movie does little to fill us in to who Violet was before this tragedy; she has friends she is neglecting, gets invited to parties, and I assume she was a confident and popular young lady. I suppose it doesn’t matter so much who she was before, as the pain she’s experiencing now at the loss of a loved one is the focus, and could be universal. The sadder Violet wears a lot of frumpy sweaters, and glasses, and her clothes become more vibrant as she does. But why do her glasses disappear when she’s happier, hmm? I made a point of noticing she’s not wearing glasses later in the movie whilst driving or reading, so is she short-sighted or far-sighted? I wear glasses all the time, and I love women who wear glasses! Can we not aim to pair up wearing glasses with being withdrawn, movies please? #lensesforliving 😊
As much as Elle has wrapped me up since The Neon Demon, the only other time I can remember coming across Justice Smith was in Detective Pikachu, and I wasn’t the biggest fan (Wikipedia tells me, he’s also that horribly annoying scientist in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; eeewww!). But Finch is funny; I love when he tips the desk over to mask Violet’s embarrassment at dropping her books – I genuinely laughed at that. And when he throws his car keys away to make a grand gesture, only to have to search through the weeds when he needs them again. Finch is terribly stubborn at doing what he thinks is the best for Violet, and I think puts her concerned parent’s minds at ease by being thoughtful and polite. We only really get one scene of top-end romance, right before a first kiss, and a few montages of swooning moments set to a fitting score. On the whole, the movie is quite dour, focusing heavily on both their internal struggles. I was captivated to find out the dark secret behind Finch’s positive demeanour; we see Finch not eating well, obsessing over post-it notes, and rarely and awkwardly divulging anything about himself.
Violet and Finch spend a night out in the rain, which causes Violet’s parents to freak out when she doesn’t come home. That’s not the biggest deal, is it? For all the good Finch has done to rebuild Violet, I’m sure the parents wouldn’t hold a grudge. But the incident does send Finch into a spiral where he is unable to recentre himself. Finch recognises that Violet needs help getting back in touch with the world, but neglects the power of others for himself. I guess his reasoning is that Violet has been through a traumatic experience, but he is broken from the outset. I love when a character reveals themselves to be deeper than initially anticipated – The Perks of Being a Wallflower has the sister character, when Charlie calls her in distress, and this movie has Amanda (Virginia Gardner). I thought Finch had turned a corner, and the movie was going to be an endorsement for group therapy. Finch freaking out at Violet seemed out of left field, and I think it would have been better if he was too proud to want to her help specifically, as not to burden her, and a strain was put on their relationship because of his selfish double-standard. But then, the movie makes its own big decisions and all that didn’t matter anymore. This is a strongly miserable movie at times, with the two quoting Virginia Woolf to each other, and a moody teen soundtrack made for the charts.
I guess I worry the potential danger with this movie is seeing how Violet continues to improve, or at least fulfil her perspective, after Finch is gone. I don’t like the idea of suicide bringing any sort’ve positive resolution. Conversely, I guess a more charitable message would be, that nobody is an island, and accepting circumstances is how you allow yourself to be ‘the bright place’ wherever you are. This movie is about Violet reawakening, and it’s fitting for her to find a resolution. But if I was Violet, I’d be pretty bummed out that I didn’t recognise Finch was suffering sooner, and be angry at Finch for not accepting my loving help. That’s on top of missing him, which she clearly does. I just hope the movie doesn’t skim too fast beyond these points of grief to where Violet is at peace with herself.
3.5
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