EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
Teen romance, interracial love & the power of pastel colors.
When you combine the talents of director Stella Meghie and knockout actress Amandla Stenberg, it's hard to imagine that the product will be anything less than spectacular.
Everything, Everything, based on the novel of the same name by Nicola Yoon, follows the life and perspective of 18-year-old Maddy - a bright-eyed, optimistic teenager longing for adventure. Her days are filled with whimsical daydreams, mostly focused on visiting the ocean. But Maddy is not your average teen. She suffers from SCID, an immuno-deficiency disease that keeps her confined to her sterilized home environment. This unique narrative allows Everything, Everything to stand out amongst other films of its genre, such as The Fault in Our Stars, in which characters suffer from diseases such as cancer.
Fun-loving, hopeful, and spirited - it's impossible not to fall in love with Maddy. Amandla Stenberg portrays this character effortlessly, almost as if she were an extension of her own personality. Things finally get interesting for our protagonist when Olly (portrayed by Nick Robinson), an off-beat, clever teen, moves in next door.
What happens next is inevitable. Girl sees boy through window. Boy sees girl. Girl smiles. Boy smiles. And the boy-next-door teen romance ensues. Olly unlocks Maddy's inner free-spirit, while she prompts him to appreciate the simplicity and full meaning of life. The meshing of their personalities is a match made in Heaven.
One of my favorite moments from the film is their initial meeting. Rosa, Maddy's nurse, invites Olly into the house and, provided that the two keep their distance, allows the two to finally meet in person. As one would expect, the scene is filled with awkward moments and silences. While most romance films would portray idealistic love-at-first sight scenarios, Everything, Everything provides a refreshing narrative, highlighting the true awkwardness of first love. The truth is, it's sometimes hard to know what to say when you come eye-to-eye with your crush. Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson did an excellent job throughout the film giving an honest, heartfelt portrayal of first love, which was very refreshing.
As a young black woman, I've been looking forward to seeing this film for months!
I had the privilege of seeing the film not once but TWICE in theaters.
The first time I saw it was with my younger sister and her friend. I spent most of the movie gassing up Amandla and her natural hair/ the pastel colors in the film/ the fantastic music. I was pretty vocal in the theater, so I'm glad that neither my sister nor the audience was disturbed, LOL. The second time I saw it with two close friends, and they loved it just as much as I did!
I connected with the raw emotion, gentle spirit of Maddy, and the quest for self-discovery that the main character embarked on.
Amandla Stenberg one of my favorite actresses and I thought it was so awesome that she'd be starring in this film, as there are very few teen romance films with a black female lead. She is certainly making waves in the entertainment industry!
Interracial love is becoming more and more widespread in this country. While recent events such as the white supremacist terrorists in Charlottesville, Virginia highlight the fact that America has a loooong way to go in resolving our issues with racism; I'm able to look around my neighborhood and see plenty of interracial relationships. Our capacity as people to see and fully appreciate other cultures and perspectives, is a remarkable thing. Maddy's story is unique, coming from the perspective of a mixed-race black teenager. As I stated earlier, Amandla seemed to effortlessly portray her role, and I'm sure that sharing the same identity as Maddy helped.
Black women deserve to see themselves in the media. We live in a world where the images that surround us often look nothing like us. It's important that the world gets to see us in a variety of ways. The "angry black woman" and "ratchet girl" stereotypes can be very damaging. Growing up, it has been hard to find characters in the movies and TV shows I watch that truly relate to me. Yes, there may have been the occasional black friend, but she was often one-dimensional and stereotypical. Though I am not mixed-race, I identify with Maddy's adventurous "why not" spirit and her lifestyle as a suburban teenage girl.
Finally, I will briefly highlight my appreciation for the color palette of this film.
As an aspiring filmmaker, I thought director Stella Meghie masterfully executed the dreamy sequences throughout the film with light, pastel colors. Maddy's world is small and confined, so she and Olly's first communication is through text messages, and instead of back-and-forth conversations on screen, their words are projected on screen as the characters float in space or some other fantastic setting.
In a blog by Women and Hollywood, Amandla stated: “I see the incredible power of infiltrating these larger movies that show a lot of people who we are and how diverse and beautiful our community is. I thought it would be really powerful to see a black girl [lead] character like Maddy who is joyous and creative and dimensional specifically marketed to teenagers and young adults. We don’t always get to see black women carrying that energy.”
Thank you, Amandla, for showing the world that young black women are worthy of life, love, and adventure.
Favorites from this Flick:
- Pastel colors (I'm convinced that black women can rock ANY color)
- Whimsical illustrations ~ Maddy is an artist & self-taught architect - her sketches are simply divine
- Fantastic settings ~ Maddy & Olly are seen floating in space and on the beaches of Hawaii (yes, Maddy realizes her ultimate dream of seeing the ocean with the love of her life)
I give this film an A+.
Lit Links:
Director Stella Meghie on Working with Amandla Stenberg and Bringing the Novel to the Big Screen