The Sun Is Also a Star Review (Spoiler-Free)
Our resident rom-com movie princess Lorna gives us her take on the film The Sun is Also a Star with her The Sun is also a star review. Still playing in theaters nationwide.
“Open your heart to destiny. Sometimes, we don’t have forever. Sometimes all we have is a single day.”
In a time where all optimism is lost, everything seems to be going nowhere and you lose sight of hope, all you ever need is a glimmer of light that will remind you that things will be alright, and it wouldn’t take forever to happen. That is what the film, “The Sun Is Also A Star” is all about. It gives its viewers a positive outlook on life, and on making the most of every opportunity and time given to them. Seeing it on the big screen will remind you of a line in Alanis Morrissette’s song’s “Ironic”: Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you and taking you to the right path–your destiny to a happy ending.
This coming-of-age film adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same title by Nicola Yoon, follows the story of two high school seniors, Natasha Kingsley, (Yara Shahidi), a pessimist who always has a scientific explanation over a lot of things, and there’s Daniel Bae (Charles Melton), a romantic poet who has family issues. The pair meet by accident in New York City.
As time is running out for Natasha, she tries her best to keep her family from leaving New York, as they are scheduled to be deported back to their homeland, Jamaica, in less than 24 hours. She then bumps into Daniel, who is off to attend an interview that will make him fulfill his parents’ wishes of him becoming a doctor. Natasha and Daniel get to form a special bond and share an intense connection in a span of a day. Despite their different cultural backgrounds and opposite personalities, it cannot be denied that they’re starting to develop strong feelings for each other, so they spend time together and try to see if it’s possible for them to really fall in love with each other, given a day.
Aside from being eye candies, it’s not difficult to like the main actors of this film. I was moved by Charles Melton’s and especially that of Yara Shahidi’s genuine acting, and it cannot be denied that there is that certain kind of chemistry between these two actors, that you just can’t help it but feel giddy for the pair throughout the movie.
The banter between Shahidi and Melton are so natural, the lines they throw at one another do not even feel scripted at all. I was kind of hoping there’ll be more deep, poetic exchange of words between the two actors, especially since Melton’s character, Daniel, writes poems, but we never had a taste of that anywhere in the movie. Instead, us film viewers were given intimate scenes of the two, minus the lines, which I’m sure most of us viewers were rooting for, but we only had visuals of two people heavily making out, accompanied by nothing but music.
The awesome scoring by Herdís Stefánsdóttir, in a way, elevated the mood of some scenes. I especially liked the narrative style of director, Ry Russo-Young, which is somewhat reminiscent of director Jean Pierre Jeunet’s distinctive work in “Amelie” and “A Very Long Engagement,” and Richard Ayoade’s take on “Submarine.” Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, on the other hand, gives us a feel of the city by providing us quite a number of bird’s eye views of Manhattan, and by bringing us to hidden places in New York we are somewhat unfamiliar with – an old café, a sleazy, tiny karaoke bar, and a wig shop. Seeing this movie will make you feel as if you’re looking into a kaleidoscope that’s bursting of colors and lights at the seams.
The best thing there is about this film is the meat of takeaways you’ll get to bring you with you as you leave the cinema. It tackles acceptance, fighting for the ones you love, taking that BIG leap for your passions, and of finding love in the most unexpected circumstances. If there’s anything that I was a bit unhappy about the movie, it has to be the unresolved drama between Daniel and his family, some lengthy filler scenes that felt like they were added to kill time, and the unexpected epilogue, which actually felt unnecessary just to prove a point. The ending felt like it was written to simply please the young viewers. Maybe, if the film was more realistic, it should show that we don’t get everything we want in real life, even if we try our best to work on it, given the unexpected circumstances that come our way. Nevertheless, I still find the movie entertaining, timely, and a must-see for everyone.
“The Sun Is Also a Star” is also a star of its own, or a ray of sunlight maybe–the flick that will give off a flicker of hope to make you brush off the negativities in life. Watch it and find hope, see things in a different light, and fall in love, like it’s the first time, all over again. Just open your heart to destiny and see if this movie is destined to be one of your new favorites. “The Sun Is Also a Star” is now showing in cinemas nationwide, with a PG-13 rating.
