“The letters are out!” Imagine you’re a high school student that wrote a love letter to all the boys you had a really intense crush on. Now, imagine those letters were sent. Well, this happened to Lara Jean on the new Netflix original film directed by Susan Johnson and based on Jenny Han’s book trilogy, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. (Watch out for spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie yet)
Lana Condor plays Lara Jean, the main character. She’s the middle daughter in a group of three and could be described as a daydreaming teenager girl who doesn’t have much friends, besides Chris (Madeleine Arthur), who’s a free spirit, and her sisters who are basically her best friends.
Her whole family is really close and they tell each other everything, making really harsh for them (especially for LJ) the fact that her older sister, Margot (Janel Parrish), is going to college in Scotland. She seemed to be in charge of the family since their mom passed away, but now she’s leaving. Kitty (Anna Cathcart) is the youngest, she’s clever and brings a funny aspect to the movie. They have a great relationship with their father, Dr. Dan Covey (John Corbett), a gynecologist that tries to maintain their mother’s Korean culture alive through recipes by using his kitchen skills, that are not very good.
Image Source: IMDb
The amazing framework captures Lara Jean’s dreamer personality. She’s always daydreaming about relationships that she never actually lived and when it gets too intense, she writes a love letter. But instead of sending them, she keeps it in a hat box. Everything in her fantasy world was just fine until someone thought otherwise and, mysteriously, the letters get to the recipients. That’s when it gets messy.
In total, there are five letters to five different guys. The first twist comes when we find out that she wrote to Josh Sanderson (Israel Broussard), who’s not only her neighbor but also Margot’s boyfriend (or ex, if you prefer). Besides him, there’s Kenny (Edward Kewin), a boy she met on camp; John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Burtchett), from model U.N; Lucas (Trezzo Mahoro) from homecoming and last but not least, Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), the most popular guy in school and her first kiss during a Spin the Bottle game, and who just broke up with Genevieve (Emilija Baranac) — Lara Jean’s former best friend.
Her personal nightmare is now real: Josh knows everything and she can’t stand the thought of hurting Margot who’s miles away. When Sanderson tries to clear things up, the only thing Lara Jean can do to avoid the conversation is kissing Peter K (who’s also talking to her about the letter he got) in front of the whole gym class. Once Kavinsky understands what’s all about, he proposes a deal where they would start a fake relationship so LJ could hide her feelings from Josh and he could make Gen jealous. Surprisingly, she says yes and they set up a contract with rules that makes references from movies like “Sixteen Candles” and “Fight Club”.
There was a huge chance of the script going in the wrong direction. Since the fake relationship thing is present in so many rom-com movies, it’s easy to predict what is going to happen next, but the producers made an excellent job by using little details to entertain the public. They’ve made it about so much more than just the relationship itself, they’ve presented the story of a cautious girl trapped, for the first time, in a really complicated love field that she had never entered before.
Seeing Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship development is truly captivating, because they can talk to each other about everything like their family issues, for example. It just feels right, it’s easy. At certain point you can tell that he’s interested, that isn’t fake anymore, but she’s not ready to let people know her emotions, just not yet. Deep down we all know that Lara Jean is just trying to hide herself from the real world, every time she gets even close to be involved in something real, she sabotages herself, constantly.
LJ and Peter. Source: IMDb
The whole Gen thing only makes it harder for her asides from the agony caused by the uncertainty of Peter’s feelings. It’s like she says: the more you let people into your life, the more you’re vulnerable for them to leave and it is scary. That’s why I think the hot tub scene is a highlight of the movie. It’s so full of sincerity that I still don’t know what I felt watching it. Lara Jean is so brave. She thinks Peter still loves Genevieve but that doesn’t stop her from making a move. Fortunately, Kavinsky is also forgetting his past to live an entire new kind of relationship with her.
The car metaphor is also very smart ‘cause Lara Jean knows how to drive, she has a license, but doesn’t feel ready to do it. She’s afraid that something bad could happen. Driving means taking control of her life, she needs to know where she’s going. So it feels right that when she decides to do it, it’s to find Peter.
In general, you’ll find yourself absentmindedly surprised by some really clever plot twists and will, unconsciously, fall in love with the characters. Noah Centineo, for example, is just brilliant, making his character as captivating as he is. You can’t help smiling at the screen every time he shows up as Peter, it’s just inevitable. His connection with Lara Jean it’s so clear and heartfelt. He displays with transparency the sensitive side of the popular athlete.
The female-driven film also brings up representativity for women. Jenny Han and Susan Johnson also insisted that Lara Jean should be played by someone with the same characteristics from the book, an Asian girl, choosing the actress Lana Condor, who’s Asian-American and fits the role perfectly. She can give Lara Jean the perfect balance of a shy girl that doesn’t suffer from the insecurity that we usually see in movies as much as the girl who’s always keeping feelings to herself because she’s afraid of facing the real life. There’s also an approach to a sexist issue but you will have to watch to figure this one out.
If I had to define the movie, I’d say that it’s a romance with a slight taste of comedy. You’ll fall in love with Lara Jean and Peter falling in love, their rhythm is fun and pleasing to watch, it could be the classic movie that people would use as references in a distant future.
Spoiler alert for those who didn’t read the book series! Can we talk about John showing up at Covey’s door in the last scene? It could be such a good hook for a sequel. They’ve already used a lot of stuff from the second book but there’s still some potential plots to be explored, let’s cross our fingers and wait!