Review: The Half of It
An unconventional story of a teen romance that explores different relationships, friendship and romance and how they affect one’s growth.
Inspired by her own life experiences, director Alice Wu’s teen romantic comedy The Half of It on Netflix centres around Ellie Chu, an Asian-American lesbian locked in a unique high school love triangle while living in a narrow-minded, small town Squahamish. It features the many archetypal tropes of rom-coms like the meet-cute, the chase scene at the train station, and of course the passionate kiss. However, The Half of It is far from any typical teen romance flick and here’s why…
It’s Not a Love Story
On the surface, The Half of It feels like teen romance flick. It uses a love triangle as a plot device. Paul, a jock with a boy-next-door personality, falls for the beautiful, popular girl, Aster. Unfortunately, he lacks the eloquence and the confidence to express his feelings to her so he enlist the help of the protagonist, Ellie Chu. A quiet, book smart closeted teen who is also enamoured with Aster. However, as the film progresses, the question of “who gets the girl?” becomes less significant. Rather, the film focuses on how the unexpected friendship between the three main characters have inspired one another to find their courage to be their authentic selves.
All three of them feel trapped in a repressive and restricting pious community. Aster is pressured by her parent’s expectations of her and how others perceive her. Paul’s creativity is restricted when his family insists on following the traditional recipe for their sausages.
Ellie stops herself from pursuing her dreams by her selfless sense of duty to take care of her father. She is also finding the courage to tell Aster of her true feelings, and coincidentally coming-out as gay. They all share a similar flaw: they lack the courage to be honest in expressing their true selves and feelings to others. Their flaws and struggles make these characters relatable and give their personality more depth compared to those seen in typical rom-coms. As they fall in and out of love, while forming lasting friendships, they help each other find the courage to break out of their own restrictions and become their authentic selves.
Even though Wu’s film is generally considered as a teen dramedy, anyone of any age and at any stage of their life can relate to the themes of the film.
Love and Friendship on an Equal Standing
In typical teen rom-coms, the romantic relationship is often glorified and is usually the main focus of the story. However, in this film, Wu demonstrates that other relationships, such as friendship are also significant. Romantic relationships are not placed on a pedestal in her film.
Instead, she shows how friendships are just as impactful in a person’s life. It is just as intimate and life-altering as a romantic one. This is portrayed through Paul and Ellie’s friendship. After spending a lot of time with Ellie, the two become close. Paul mistakes this bond and intimacy as romance, when in truth Ellie sees him nothing more than a good friend. Wu demonstrates that it is possible to care deeply for a friend as you would a romantic partner. Making and ending friendships has the same impact on a person’s life as falling in and out of love. For Ellie and Paul, their friendship encourages them to be brave. As Alice Wu explains, “The break-up with a friend is just as bad as breaking up with a partner.”
When Paul realises that there are more than one way to love, he isn’t only talking about the love between friends but also the love between two of the same sex. Wu’s film normalises gay romance by having a lesbian lead and juxtaposing the Ellie and Aster love story with that of Paul and Aster. Her film shows that the experience of a girl liking another girl is not so different from that of a typical heterosexual romance.
No Fairytale Ending
Unlike typical rom-coms, the characters in The Half of It don’t get a happily ever after. At least not in the romantic sense but it doesn’t mean a sad ending. The film closes with a hopeful note as Paul, Ellie and Aster part ways to pursue their own dreams and passions. Perhaps these characters may one day find each other once more. While an open ending can be unsatisfying, it’s an honest ending with the best solution for all characters. As mentioned earlier, the film concentrates on their inner growth. It would only make sense that a good ending for these characters is one where they choose to focus on themselves. With an open ending, the lives of these characters will continue even after the credits roll. We only know the beginning of their journey to maturity, that start of their self-actualisation process in becoming their true selves. Regarding the lives of Paul, Ellie, and Aster, we only know the (first) half of it.
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Photo Source: The Half of It. Alice Wu. Netflix, 2020. Film.
Disclaimer: Any views and opinions expressed are personal and solely belong to the authors. They are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club organisation, company, individual or anyone or anything.
