'Chemical Hearts' Review: Amazon Prime movie doesn't fall victim to tropes, surprises with unique narrative
Spoilers for Amazon Prime original movie 'Chemical Hearts'
Henry Page (Austin Abrams) thinks of himself as a hopeless romantic. Like just another average teenager in school, he focuses on getting good grades and working hard to become editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Henry is not necessarily unhappy, he's waiting for something. Waiting for something exciting to happen, waiting for love, nervousness, excitement but also pain, heartbreak and grief (although he doesn't know about the latter yet).
That's when Grace Town (Lili Reinhart) enters his life — on a rudimentary day of everyday monotony, Grace walks into his life. Along with this, she is also made editor-in-chief of the school newspaper but makes it clear early on that she doesn't want to write anymore. That's a curious choice to make for a writer, thinks Henry, and can't help but ask her about it, among other things.
At first, Grace keeps away from him, she doesn't talk in school, is reclusive, walks with a stick to and fro from school despite having a car and a license, she always wears large, baggy men's clothing and doesn't even look like she bathes. But Henry is immediately pulled in towards her and cannot stop asking incessant questions, which eventually brings Grace closer to him, making her keen about him too.
Soon enough, the two begin dating but not without problems. After a decent run of seeing each other, Grace calls it quits. It has been evident all along that something is the matter with her, that she isn't letting other people in on her secrets.
Without giving too much away, we'll say that 'Chemical Hearts' deals with the age-old story of love: "she's in love with someone else," as Henry will rue to his sister later on in the movie. But it stands apart in its narrative that rarely comes by — a strong narrative that tells the story of love, loss and everything in between.
The book was often compared to 'Eleanor & Park' by Rainbow Rowell and 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green. We would say the movie is along the lines of 'Perks of Being a Wallflower', '500 Days of Summer', 'Spectacular Now' and 'Stuck in Love' — each a wonderful movie in the coming-of-age collection.
With its intensive characters, indie soundtrack, multiple references of Pablo Neruda's 'One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII' painful "I love you as one loves certain obscure things, secretly, between the shadow and the soul," and cinematography, 'Chemical Hearts' is a curious addition to the list of the good YA movies. It doesn't fall victim to tropes and carves it's own little space in the massive sea of coming of age, Young Adult romance.
At the same time, many would argue that these are the exact reasons why the movie is generic and formulaic, following the path cemented by Green. Regardless, Amazon's 'Chemical Hearts' is the YA movie to watch out for this year particularly because it is far better than the YA productions of Prime's streaming competitors. Prime Video originals have a way with romance. The streamer's previous originals 'Modern Love' and 'The Big Sick' are commendable in their own ways.
The narrative of the movie is powerful and tells an important story about sudden loss, guilt and grief. Outside the 'Riverdale' universe, Reinhart presents herself in a compelling new avatar of the hurting, layered, complex female protagonist and it does wonders for the movie opposite the hopeless romantic that is Austin Abrams' Henry Page. The two add chemistry to the movie.
'Chemical Hearts' is produced by Big Indie Pictures and directed by Richard Tanne, who also wrote the screenplay. The Prime Video movie is based on the debut book 'Our Chemical Hearts' by Krystal Sutherland. Reinhart and the author Sutherland also serve as executive producers on the movie.
Like most coming of age stories, the closure doesn't come from the same source as the pain. So is the case for both Henry and Grace. The two eventually get ready to move on, burying their grief and surpassing their pain, but never forgetting. 'Chemical Hearts' might look like a romantic movie at first but it really tells a heartwarming coming of age story with a unique narrative and compelling characters.
'Chemical Hearts' is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.