The Review:
Brett Haley’s All the Bright Places is a romance with a bit of bipolar and hints of suicide.* Elle Fanning is great: she captures the emotions her character Violet travels through, from depressed despair to love and back again. The film does a disservice by not confronting the darkness; it’s content to bask in the love story.**
The verdict: Skip
Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home
Consider watching instead:
- Hearts Beat Loud (in contrast, a highly recommended Brett Haley film)
- Short Term Twelve
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (I’m not a fan, but many people are)
- Mysterious Skin
Further sentences:
*This is one of those reviews where I’ve read the book and liked the book and even though it’s been a few years since reading, the plot is still very clear in my mind and does a much better job of getting across the point which is: mental illness is tough and even when you love someone it’s not the thing that’s going to fix their illness.
**It is good at capturing that early love stage, though perhaps too much dependent on montage.
Questions:
- Do you think a film can accurately capture the complexities of bipolar disorder and falling in love? It seems a tall order.
- Justice Smith. What did you think of his performance?
Favorite IMDB trivia item:
Elle Fanning’s first credit as producer on a feature film.
Other reviews:
