Four stars. Rated PG-13, and too harshly, for fleeting profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.8.20
Writer/director Alice Wu’s The Half of It is a charming, high school-oriented riff on Edmond Rostand’s ageless Cyrano de Bergerac.
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| Ellie (Leah Lewis) can't believe the embarrassingly clumsy prose that Paul (Daniel Diemer) expects will impress a girl that he has worshipped from afar. |
The Netflix original’s sharp script is matched by a talented young cast, with the bonus of a setting that’s far more picturesque and romantic than most: Squahamish, a small rural town in tree-laden Washington state. (That said, filming actually took place in and around numerous small communities in upstate New York.)
Ellie (Leah Lewis, a familiar presence on TV’s Nancy Drew) — shy, lonely and ferociously smart — supplements the family income by “ghosting” homework papers for classmates. They gratefully pay top dollar but otherwise ignore her.
Money is tight because Ellie’s father (Collin Chou) has been in a depressed funk since the unexpected death of his wife. They immigrated from China to take advantage of America’s greater opportunities; he became the Squahamish train station master.
But now he rarely ventures out of the house; Ellie even handles the station signals every day, when trains pass. She cares attentively for her father, and they bond while watching old movies; conversation, minimal to begin with, always ceases during his favorite “good parts.”
Ellie cherishes a childhood photo, taken alongside her mother.
One random day, while bicycling home from school, Ellie is stopped by Paul (Daniel Diemer), a jock who towers above all the other students. (He’s 6-foot-5!) He’s sweet on Aster (Alexxis Lemire), one of the school’s cutest girls, but worries that his clumsily written “introductory letter” won’t send the proper message; knowing of Ellie’s writing skill, he hopes she can give it a better spin.
Right away, props to Paul for writing an actual physical letter, rather than sending a text. As we’ll soon see — despite his hulking appearance and tongue-tied, aw-shucks manner — Paul has more emotional intelligence and maturity than anybody else in this story. Diemer is absolutely perfect in the role, exuding just the right blend of kindness, compassion and salt-of-the-earth integrity.
