Many viewers have heard of the Netflix drama “Riverdale’s” Betty Cooper. Now get ready for “Chemical Hearts” Grace Town. The story involves a young girl who is a mysterious transfer student joined by Henry Page in creating the high school’s newspaper as his co-editor.
Starring Austin Abrams as the timid Henry Page and our beloved Lili Reinhart as the angsty Town, this film is worth a watch. Reinhart portrayed Town and served as an executive producer on the set.
“I hope that this shows people that my heart is really in film,” Reinhart told Entertainment Weekly. She wanted to “break out” of her role as Betty Cooper on “Riverdale” and that’s why she worked tirelessly on “Chemical Hearts.”
Henry Page (Austin Abrams) is the lead in this adaptation of the novel “Our Chemical Hearts” by Krystal Sutherland.
From the opening lines, viewers see that Henry is a bit awkward, has a few great friends and wants to be a writer. However, whenever he sits down to write, it seems like nothing noteworthy has ever happened to him.
The concept of a misunderstood teenager has been done countless times in Hollywood and can be impactful if executed right, but that’s not the case with “Chemical Hearts.” The advertisements for the movie are frivolous in comparison to the plot.
From the start, Page is a bland but relatable character. However, Town isn’t likeable in the slightest. They meet through a mutual position at the high school newspaper.
Viewers do not see her at her best until the end of the film, and so I am in the dark about why she leads on and lashes out at Page. I do not see how things fell apart for Town, so I do not like her as a character. She seems selfish to the naïve viewer. A self-absorbed character is the worst kind of character, so I am glad she does not portray our lead.
Nonetheless, “Chemical Hearts” is about Page and Town sharing a human experience. It is about being a teenager stuck in limbo and how it feels to grow close to someone for the first time. It’s about having your heart broken, which feels like the end of the world until it doesn’t anymore.
Cinematic melodrama aside, Page learns how it feels to be willing to walk to the ends of the earth for someone who doesn’t care; while Town shows us that playing with hearts is a dangerous game. No one means to hurt anyone when it comes to love, but it happens.
Page and Town teach us about making it out of adolescence alive, which is simpler for some more than others, but easy for none. Everything is a chemical. Everything feels bigger than it is.
“Chemical Hearts” is now streaming on Amazon Prime TV. Students can purchase Amazon Prime for $6.50 a month.
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