In case you haven’t heard yet, “Chemical Hearts” is the latest american romance distributed by Amazon Prime. Based on the novel “Our Chemical Hearts” by Krystal Sutherland, the film runs away from the cliché “boy meets a girl in high school and they fall in love” – and all that predictive plot we already know. That’s the first thing you need to keep in mind.
In the storyline, we follow Henry Page’s (Austin Abrams) journey as a typical socially invisible nerd attending his last year at high school. Moved by his passion for writing and for the Japanese art of kintsugi – which consists on mending vases with gold fillets -, the boy faces typical dilemmas of an unsociable teenager that has never lived an adventure.
The setting of the story is the school newspaper. Henry, who had always dreamt about being the editor, finally gets the role… but not alone. He is put in charge of the release of the newspaper, along with Grace (Lili Reinhart), a transfer student who became his assistant. We get to know this mysterious girl through Henry’s eyes, and witness their relationship evolving. She’s very pretty, but some of her physical features show that somehow she has been emotionally and physically broken – as we can see by her limping and need of a walking stick. Here we have the first sign that we’re about to face something different from the excessive romanticization we see in usual teenage films.
Young love is the major subject of the film, leaving some other themes in the background. Henry, who has never fallen in love, frequently asks himself if he’ll find someone to call “babe”. The presence of his sister, who has been through a recent heartbreak, and his parents, with a long and steady relationship, strikes the boy, who finds himself lost in between two extreme experiences.
While the boy goes through trivial problems, we notice that Grace is struggling with something, but it isn’t clear what exactly. And that is where we see Lili Reinhart – who, by the way, is one of the film’s producers – give life to her enigmatic and deep character. Grace shows signs of having suffered a car crash, and the past torments her. This darkness around her is also reflected in the film photography, which gives it a even more interesting tone.
What’s there to say is: the storyline brings up important issues and stands out from other teen movies. Even though it could have gone in a deeper analysis of Grace’s grief, it shows Henry taking part in her life and sharing her pain, which puts him sometimes in a difficult position – just like it happens in real life. “Chemical Hearts” brings up important and delicate discussions, but manages to do it perfectly. So, if you’re still indicisive, I’ll say: it’s worth a watch! ;)