The Half of It

By Alice Wu

A Technical Breakdown

MAY 2023

[GEED 10073] Art Appreciation

 The Half of It by Alice Wu (2020)

Technical Background of the Art Work

For Film

Title: The Half of It

Director: Alice Wu
Screenplay: Alice Wu
Based from: Cyrano de Bergerac
Cinematorapher: Greta Zozula
Editor:
 Ian Blume
 Lee Percy
Music Director: Anton Sanko
Production Company: Likely Story
Distributing Company: Netflix
Year of Release: 2020
Running Time: 104 minutes[1]
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Budget: N/A
Box Office: N/A

Featured Artists
 Leah Lewis
 Daniel Diemer
 Alexxis Lemire

List of Accolades
 The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca Film Festival (2020)

What The Half of It is all about?

The Half of It was based Cyrano de Bergerac in 1897, which the plot of the play
is based on the broad strokes of Cyrano de Bergerac's life. Written and directed by Alice
Wu. It's a typical adolescent romantic comedy about a Chinese-American high school
girl who does anyone's homework for money and assists her father in paying bills in
their apartment. Eventually, a jock asks her to write him a love letter to get his crush’s
attention. It was supposed to be just a single letter, but it turned into coaching and
switching identities with one another to exchange messages with the said crush in order
for him to date her. The main character can express who really she is through text, and
someone understands her more than everyone who can't. And that's why the plot twist
is the main girl character named Ellie fell in love with his crush.

Therefore, this film was regarded as having an LGBTQ twist and highlighting the
nature of love, friendship, and self-worth. Ellie found her answers. She discovered what
it's like to have a friend, how to break free from their robotic town, and the meaning of
liking and making a promise to someone. Anyone can relate to this story, especially to
those people who are still confused about the context of love, friendship, and teenage
life, and to those who are still looking for their other half.

What does The Half of It point out?

The soul of The Half of It movie is to be enlightened on the fundamental point of

friendship, questions about love and friendship, serious life realizations of a teenager,
and being bold about who you are.

Why did you like/dislike The Half of It?

The Half of It is a truly relatable film, particularly for those seeking the true
essence of friendship and life, as well as the realization of love. First, I was drawn to its
setting, specifically how they emphasize live actions and interactions in nature. They
have a balanced, peaceful, and environmentally friendly environment, which is
appropriate for my taste in countryside teenage love stories. I love every detail that Ellie
Chu provides in her internal monologue and every statement that made me respond
that "Yeah, she got a point" or agrees with her decisions. She is responsible and aware
of her responsibilities, even though she was not asked to prioritize them, yet she fulfills
them for her father. Ellie recounts every realization she had while assisting Paul. I like
their bond, how they plan together, consider each other's flaws, share opinions and
thoughts, and accompany Ellie's father to a romantic movie night. You can really say
they are getting into that different kind of relationship.
And when Ellie outperforms her abilities in singing and playing guitar, she
receives the attention she has never had before. She received compliments and was
even invited to an indoor party. She can now describe what it's like to hang out with
someone else, laugh with them, and drink alcohol with them. Her life has changed since
she met Paul, able to feel that kind of high school experience she never had before. But
the plot changes when Paul tried to kiss Ellie but got declined, their feelings are not
mutual.
 However, the idea in the film that I was so taken with is Ellie's relationship with
Aster. I love how Aster connects to every message Ellie sends her, even though she
has no idea it's not Paul. I get the impression that every time she talks to Ellie, she is
escaping her parents' negative and biased views on marriage and relationships. But on
the other side of the story, she not only interacts with her over the phone, but Aster also
invites Ellie to her secret hot spring in the woods. They talked about Ellie's philosophical
quote, her mother's favorite song, which was playing in the background, and how much
they feel relaxed floating around in the hot spring.e Despite being surrounded by
popular students at school, Ellie finally understands Aster's thoughts. She is able to see
her deeper impressions of life. Encouraging her to be bolder and free her true self.

This movie made me realize that there are different perspectives in life. People
make mistakes, and there's nothing wrong with it. We can't always perfect everything,
we don't have to do things right; sometimes, as we step forward we'll never know what
might happen along the way. Wrong decisions can lead us into something we never
expect we will have.

One of my favorite parts is when Ellie gathered the courage to take care of things
after making the decision she knew would be difficult in the first place. And I can tell she
feels like a heavy burden has finally been lifted from her shoulders. She is finally going
to college and feels confident that she can leave her father in their town, maintain her
friendship with Paul, and confess and make a promise to Aster.

What does everyone say about The Half of It?

There are a variety of opinions given to The Half of It, some of them are good
with it, some are not, and others are neutral. They like Ellie Chu, the main character,
because she is wise, accomplished, responsible, and humble, and because she
explores the complexities of relationships (with friends, lovers, and families) from a
young teen/adult perspective with insightful results, and because she promotes honesty,
empathy, and respect for difference. And she is the type of protagonist they don't see
enough of. She appears to be a constant fixture in everyone's life at her high school, but
not as a friend.
And, according to the overall film review, they set aside time to reflect on the
changes in their lives. Other critics have commented that the film feels familiar but fresh
and that it is more about friendship than love, which they agree with, but they believe
the film is even more about loving oneself, and that even if they never find a better half,
they must know the half they hold within themselves. Otherwise, some people are not
satisfied with it since they don't like the idea of a boy and a girl kissing, but in the other
plot, two girls are kissing. And the whole movie has nothing new or exciting, it is typical
and the same as before films. They are also not into the dialogues, which according to
them are poorly written. Other people feel embarrassed and cringe at some parts,
especially the church scene, where Trig is giving a speech, then Ellie and Paul have to
interfere.
Several critics have pointed out similar issues with the story, but they are more
forgiving of it overall because of Ellie and Paul's refreshing friendship.

Summary

Ellie Chu, the only Chinese-American daughter of an Asian widowed father,

begins the film by doing anyone's homework for money and helping her father in paying
bills in their apartment. A jock named Paul Munsky came up from Ellie to write him a
love letter for a girl named Aster Flores, reserved to marry a guy named Trig Carson. It
was supposed to be a single letter, but Ellie, disguised as Paul, and Aster ended up
exchanging texts.

As their bond grows deeper, Chu can express herself through text about books,
films, and philosophical musings, and someone finally understands her. However, Paul
is unfamiliar with these topics, which caused him to struggle during milkshake dates
with Aster. But their plan eventually worked, and Paul finally piqued Aster's interest in
him, while his friendship with Ellie grows stronger as they get to know each other.
However, as part of the plot twist, Paul has feelings for Ellie and tries to assure it by
kissing her, which is rejected and unexpectedly witnessed by Aster, and that's when
Paul discovers that Ellie secretly likes Aster.

During Trig Carson's church mass speech about marrying Aster, Ellie couldn't
stand their forced and arranged relationship. Chu intervenes to stop Trig, mentioning a
line that was only mentioned in the text box, revealing that it was her, not Paul, who was
sending the messages all along.

For the resolution of the story, the revelation surprised Aster at first, so she
skipped church for a few days, but when Ellie visited her workplace, she explained
herself and reconnected with her.
Ellie Chu worked up the courage to kiss Aster and promised to see her after college. A
few days later, Paul escorted Ellie to the train station, maintaining their friendship.
References

IMDb.com. (n.d.). The half of it. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9683478/awards/

IMDb.com. (n.d.). The half of it. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9683478/reviews/

James, E. St. (2020, April 30). Netflix’s the half of it was the queer teen rom-com of my
dreams - until it wasn’t. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/4/30/21240768/the-half-
of-it-netflix-review

Lemire, C. (n.d.). The half of IT movie review & film summary (2020): Roger Ebert.
movie review & film summary (2020) | Roger Ebert.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-half-of-it-movie-review-2020

Na. (n.d.). The half of it. Rotten Tomatoes.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_half_of_it

Prahl, A. (2020, April 30). Netflix’s the half of it draws on a very famous story - and it’s
not the only one. POPSUGAR Entertainment.
https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/is-netflix-half-it-based-on-book-47401110

Staff. (2020, June 23). The half of it – movie facts, release date & film details.
Release Details. https://www.releasedetails.com/movies/the-half-of-it/

The half of it movie review. Common Sense Media. (n.d.).

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-half-of-it

Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, March 16). The half of it. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Half_of_It#External_links