Life in a Year | Film Review

 

I heard nothing about this film before it came out, which was really surprising because it had such a good cast. But even though I'm starting to feel the cancer-movie fatigue, I thought I'd give this one a go.

When Daryn (Jaden Smith) finds out that his girlfriend Isabelle (Cara Delevingne) is dying of cancer, he decides to pack a lifetime of memories into the year she has left.

I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would.

I was surprised at how little this film was promoted, especially because, as I've said, it had a really good cast.   

Normally with stories like this, the beginning of the film feels unnecessary because you're waiting to get to the main plot. But with this one, even the backstory was really interesting, and definitely didn't feel unnecessary.

I loved the characters, particularly Daryn who is a really great character. But all of these characters have their own stories and lives, and they all feel really well written and thought-out.

The relationship between Daryn and Isabelle is really endearing. I'm not usually a huge fan of characters who fall in love almost immediately, but for this one, them falling in love so quickly was necessary for the advancement of the plot, so I didn't mind it.

It's a lot funnier and more upbeat than you'd expect it to be, which was another thing that I really liked. Just because the subject matter is upsetting, doesn't mean the whole film has to be.

There is a really interesting dynamic between Daryn and his father Xavier (Cuba Gooding Jr.) - even though the relationship is frequently negative, you can see how much they love each other, which is a testament to the actors really knowing these characters.

This film does follow the generic illness rom-com formula that you'd come to expect. But what makes it stand out from a lot of similar films are the characters. They are unique, and could stand against the backdrop of a completely different story and still work well. 

Another unique aspect of the film is the injection of music, particularly Daryn's rap, which gave the film a really current, modern feel.

However, the film didn't pack the emotional punch that I was expecting. It was obviously heart-breaking, but I never felt emotional. In fact, I never felt like I was in the story, it was always just a film to me, which might be why I never felt anything.    

Overall, this is a story that we've all seen before, told in a unique way. I enjoyed it, and if you like the plot, you probably will too.

6.5/10