It easy to trivialize “The Half of It” and sum it up as a quaint teen romance movie that serves its purpose well and nothing more. And while that might technically be true, it’s the smaller details within its plot and filmmaking, as well as the terrific performances that make this a standout romance for any orientation and any age.
Directed and written by Alice Wu (“Saving Face,” “Over the Moon”), the film features many stylings typical of independent film. Had Netflix not snapped this up, its easy to see a studio like Focus Features, Annapurna, or even A24 (though it might be a bit too happy for their tastes) having put it out. The world is clean and features a muted color palette, but this is all on purpose.
Wu clearly knows when to let locations, colors, and cinematography take over and when static shots will suffice. It almost seems like a plot device, letting the colors take over when things need more color to communicate the happenings.
These might seem like rudimentary techniques, but for the romance genre, specifically the teen romance genre, its almost revolutionary. To see a filmmaker approach a film like this with some actual skill instead of shooting it like a sitcom is nothing short of a miracle. It helps to not only make the film more watchable, but more memorable as well.
Anyone familiar with the tale Cyrano de Bergerac, or its more well-known film counterpart Steve Martin’s Roxanne, knows the story here. Guy like girl but is too afraid he won’t know what to say, so he enlists in the help of a smarter stranger to write letters for him. The twist here is all about the main character and smarter stranger Ellie Chu.
Ellie is queer and an immigrant, and while we get more details on her birth and moving to the U.S. than here queerness, both are quietly revolutionary. The film doesn’t ever call her gay, a lesbian, bisexual, or anything of the like, instead allowing her attraction to just exist. There is some of the requisite “sinner” talk in the latter half of the film, but for the most part Ellie’s attraction is allowed to exist just as an attraction.
Some easy comparisons could be made to the friendship that blossoms between Ellie and Paul, the guy who hires her to write for him, and the “lesbian and himbo” meme culture that has popped up recently, but their bond is a highlight of the film.
It’s a friendship that evolves naturally and with ease, which only makes it more fun to watch the two of them get along and involve themselves in each other’s lives. Take out the romance plot, and you’d still have an engaging and charming story of two opposite people becoming friends.
Leah Lewis (“Charmed,” “Nancy Drew”) plays Ellie with a quiet and stern attitude that only sees her coming out of her shell more as the film progresses. Daniel Diemer (“The Man in the High Castle”) might speak with a slight monotone, but that also fades as the film progresses and his doofy charm and slightly askew mannerisms come into play.
“The Half of It” is a movie about finding joy in the unexpected pleasures. It features a football star who wants to become famous for cooking, not for playing football. It features a queer twist on a classic tale that seems so extremely effortless and it features the most mature incorporation of queerness in any recent romance because its never pointed out directly.
Like previously stated, its easy to write off “The Half of It” because of what it appears to be, but like the characters within, its what’s on the inside that makes it so extremely charming and easy to watch. It’s a well-made romance with intelligence put into it, not dumbed down or easy to swallow for mass audience appeal. To call it a charming film isn’t even the half of it. 4/5
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