The Half of It movie storyline. A triangle of teenage crushes connects two girls and a guy in this engaging high school dramedy. Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is a queer straight-A student with a habit of doing her classmates’ homework for cash so she can help her dad out with the bills at home. She spends her classes looking longingly across the room at the beautiful Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire), but she hasn’t found the right words to express her admiration.
When a football player, Paul (Daniel Diemer), approaches Ellie to ask for help writing Aster a love letter, she’s conflicted, but she needs the money and agrees to coach him. As their flirtatious letters progress to texts, Ellie’s wordsmithery skills win Aster over. Agreeing to meet up with Paul in person, Aster finds herself confronted with a complicated situation where nothing is quite what it seems.
The Half of It is a 2020 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Alice Wu. It stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, and Alexxis Lemire, with Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, and Collin Chou in supporting roles. It is loosely inspired by Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, and follows a Chinese-American student helping the school jock woo a girl whom, secretly, they both desire.
The film was released worldwide on Netflix on May 1, 2020. It received positive reviews from critics, who mostly praised Wu’s direction and screenplay, as well as the performances of Lewis and Diemer. It was honored with the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at the 19th Tribeca Film Festival, while Wu was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 36th Independent Spirit Awards.
About the Story
Friendless student Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) lives in the remote town of Squahamish, where she makes extra money writing homework papers for her fellow students. She gets paid only when the students get an A (An A-, A or an A+). She charges $10 for 3 pages and $20 for 3-10 pages. She lives with her widowed father Edwin (Collin Chou) and performs most of his duties as station master and signalman. Ellie writes about the topic of love and is really sensitive and thoughtful. She writes about how people know instantly when they are with someone that they are meant to be with.
At her high school, it is mandatory for Ellie to perform at the senior talent show. She is approached by Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer), an inarticulate football player, to write a love letter to Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire), a girl at their school. Ellie is secretly in love with Aster and initially refuses. Paul offers to pay more. Ellie accepts the work after learning that her home’s electricity will be shut off if they fail to make a minimum payment of $50 in one day’s time.
Aster is dating Trig (Wolfgang Novogratz), a boy from a wealthy family, and Ellie (posing as Paul) begins a heartfelt correspondence with Aster in letters (through Paul) and text messages (Paul and Ellie meet in a church where Ellie texts Aster as Paul from his phone). The two begin to connect over their shared interests in literature and art, though Aster believes she is communicating with Paul. Through their letters, they paint a joint mural, painting in turns at designated times when the other is not around.
Meanwhile, Ellie’s English teacher Mrs. Geselschap (Becky Ann Baker) encourages her to apply to Grinnell College, but Ellie plans to stay in Squahamish, despite being unhappy there, because she doesn’t want to leave her father. Mrs. Geselschap knows that Ellie writes the homework for her fellow students and can have multiple takes on the same topics, which indicates how immensely talented she is.
Ellie sets up Paul on a date with Aster, but it goes badly because Paul is unable to converse with her like Ellie can. Paul is awkward and not at all expressive as Ellie can be. Ellie regards this as the end of their attempts, but after Paul defends her from bullies, she agrees to teach him about art and literature in preparation for his next date with Aster in 3 week’s time.
Ellie teaches Paul about topics such as abstract art, Audrey Hepburn, conversation lessons, learning about Aster’s likes and dislikes, good cop/bad cop, and existentialism. Ellie and Paul begin to bond as they open up about their familial struggles. Paul figures that Ellie is in love with Aster (Paul was talking about what he likes about Aster, and Ellie’s description is a lot more poetic and romantic as compared to Paul’s) and is shocked initially, but later makes peace with it. Paul also talks to Ellie about his passion for sausages and sausage based culinary creations.
Paul’s second date with Aster goes as badly as the first, but Ellie saves the evening by texting Aster, pretending to be Paul (who is sitting right in front of Aster), who abruptly professes his romantic interest in Aster, and later tells Ellie that he kissed her. Paul brings Ellie to a party and takes her to his home after she becomes intoxicated, where he sees letters in her bag addressed to food critics, presumably about his sausage creations. Paul can see that Ellie really cares about him.
The Half of It (2020)
Directed by: Alice Wu
Starring: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, Collin Chou, MacIntyre Dixon, Gabi Samels, Haley Murphy
Screenplay by: Alice Wu
Production Design by: Sue Chan
Cinematography by: Greta Zozula
Film Editing by: Ian Blume, Lee Percy
Costume Design by: Vicki Farrell
Set Decoration by: Roland Trafton
Art Direction by: Jasmine Cho
Music by: Anton Sanko
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: May 1, 2020
Views: 24
