They ruined the film!
I shouldn't say that, the film was lovely, exquisitely filmed and well-acted, but as far as I'm concerned, one of the two main points of the film was completely removed.
Based on Nicola Yoon's 2016 young adult novel, this film follows Natasha Kingsley (Yara Shahidi) and Daniel Bae (Charles Melton) on a very important day in their young lives, Daniel convinces Natasha that he can make her fall in love with him in just one day.
Spoiler Alert: It works. She's skeptical, as her science-based mind just refuses to believe that true love and fate exists, but she's getting deported, so true love doesn't last. For the record, if they truly loved each other, they would not have fallen out of touch. But I'm twenty-eight, not seventeen.
Now, the book also had another point, completely removed from the screenplay (Yoon, you should be very disappointed). Here, as Natasha enters through the security gate to go see an immigration lawyer, she thanks the security guard after her bag is returned to her. This is such a simple action, you might have glazed over it in the book, but it comes full circle. Turns out, this security guard, sick and depressed of her dead end job, was going to commit suicide that night but Natasha's simple, almost insignificant action caused this woman (I forget the character's name, shame on me) to quit her job and become a flight attendant, never getting Natasha's simple action.
To me, this just proves that every single action you do in a day matters. You may not think it will but it could. While the film had that point as well, it was more self-serving than in the book, which is a crying shame. I haven't been that angry at a film in a long time.
And that is not to under mind the film, it was still good, with some great performances and deals with an important issue, illegal immigration. And if you've never read the book, you will probably love the film. So I'm torn, the film itself was very good but if you think about how the book was adapted to the big screen, then you will likely be disappointed. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Pay attention to Jake Choi (from ABC's Single Parents) as Daniel's big brother, Charlie, the film's main asshole, who also plays a pivotal role in keeping Natasha and Daniel together. You learn more about his background in the book.
-In the book, the reason Natasha's family is deported is that lawyer doesn't end up meeting with the judge because he's in love with his secretary and bangs her in the closet. In the film, the lawyer (John Leguizamo) is nearly run over by a bike and falls in love with the ER doctor, and marries her, though he wears a wedding throughout the whole film, not just the epilogue.
-I wish I could look that good after spending a night sleeping with a stranger in a random park.
-It's true, people never look up enough.
-In the film, Natasha and Daniel get back together as he starts to read a poem in a coffee shop. In the book, the former security guard is a flight attendant, recognizes Natasha and thanks her for being the inspiration to change her life. Daniel is on the same flight.
-Once again, just as in Yoon's other book to film adaptation, the male protagonist's hair has changed from the book to the film.
-Daniel did truly get all the looks in the family.
-Shahidi is brilliant and manages to look younger in parts and older, which cannot be easy. She's marvelous.
-For the record, I do not believe in true love or fate as I have had two meet cutes with the same guy but am still single nevertheless.
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