Danielle Solzman
The Sun Is Also a Star is a film that manages to look at the love between a star-crossed couple by way of the scientific method.
When they first meet, Daniel Bae (Charles Melton) and Natasha Kingsley (Yara Shahidi) are at very different points in their life. Daniel had just saved Natasha’s life from an out-of-control driver. Had she not been wearing a Deux Ex Machine jacket that morning, it’s possible that he wouldn’t save the day. Daniel is going to an interview in order to attend Dartmouth and become a doctor. Natasha has one day left in the United States unless her family’s immigration case can be reopened. It’s wishful thinking that Daniel thinks Natasha can fall in love with him in less than a day. The odds are stacked against him from the get-go!
With Natasha likely headed back to Jamaica, one day becomes an hour. One hour turns into a few hours. Maybe it is fate that the two are meant to be? Maybe, maybe not. They spend as much time together as possible before the inevitable seems likely. All of Natasha’s hopes and dreams come down to a meeting with attorney Jeremy Martinez (John Leguizamo). Honestly, this kind of ties into the administration’s immigration policies. The Kingsley family just want to live a better life! Is this really too much to ask for?!?
Science actually plays a big role in this film. It’s more than just the title. Although when Daniel mentions poetry, Natasha says that nobody writes poems about the sun. They just write poetry about love, sex, and the stars. Meanwhile, Hugh Everett’s multiverse theory comes into play. I’m not in a position to explain this theory in a film review so please click here!
Is there anything believable about The Sun Is Also a Star? The performances here are fine. It’s just that I have a hard time buying into what the film wants me to believe. The fact is that this is just another opposites attract film. When you’ve seen one of them, you’ve seen them all. It’s not even the fact that you have to believe that the universe controls your fate. Having immigration play a factor here is just enough to tug at your heart. Okay, maybe just a bit more than a tug. You can’t help but root for them to end up together in a world that wants them apart. The system is really at play. Do they end up with a happy ending? This is for you to find out.
I’m not saying that the events of The Sun Is Also a Star couldn’t happen in real life. It honestly comes off as falling just a bit too short.
DIRECTOR: Ry Russo-Young
SCREENWRITER: Tracy Oliver
CAST: Yara Shahidi, Charles Melton, John Leguizamo
