Everything, Everything About This Love Story

Imagine never leaving your house for 17 years, never being able to go outside, never seeing the ocean, despite it only being three miles away from your house, and never having much physical contact with others, with only the Internet and books to base real life on.

That is the life doe-eyed protagonist Maddy Whittier (Amandla Stenberg) has to live. Diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), she is trapped in her house, as she would get sick if she walked outside. Spoiler alert: she does not die.

Instead, she is saved by her undying love for Olly Bright (Nick Robinson), the boy next door who is a gentleman that desperately needs a haircut.

Directed by Stella Meghie, “Everything, Everything,” is a riveting love story about an intelligent girl who is drawn outdoors once she starts texting a boy who just became her neighbor. As based on the book by Nicola Yoon, Maddy only starts asking questions about her illness and her monotonous life as she falls more in love with Olly and begins to feel trapped.

Stenberg and Robinson are able to sell Maddy and Olly’s love with their undeniable chemistry. They have everything down, from the way they lovingly look at each other in the car to the way Olly’s face lights up with concern and fear as soon as he sees Maddy outside. The duo allows their flirty banter to seem genuine and emotional rather than cheesy and cliché, building off of each other’s thoughts seamlessly without overdoing the laughter and the blushes. The flawless acting makes many root for the star-crossed lovers, especially when they throw caution into the wind and kiss for the first time, which can end Maddy’s life.

Maddy and Olly’s love is only amplified with Meghie’s stylistic choices. Instead of showing two people texting, which is what this couple is forced to do the majority of the time, Meghie decides to use Maddy’s architecture class to her advantage. For assignments, Maddy is forced to build diners, libraries, and houses. Maddy then imagines all of her and Olly’s texts to be said face-to-face in these architectural models. Whenever she picks up her phone and smiles, the camera fades into her imagination, emitting a whimsical, dreamy aura as they share their true feelings. This only enhances Maddy and Olly’s love story; having the audience see Stenberg and Robinson say the texts out loud with passion illustrates the true emotions they feel when they text each other. Their love, figuratively and literally, comes off the screen.

The movie, however, has obvious discontinuities. For example, Maddy states at the beginning of the film that she has 100 white t-shirts, but she is only seen in one in the starting scene and wears blue crop tops for the rest of the movie. In addition, Olly comments that Maddy is too close to him the third time they are five feet apart from each other. While many die-hard romance fans will shrug off these moments, those who aren’t as keen on romance will have problems with this.

In fact, some who are not as inclined to romance movies might be disgusted by the unrealistic fantasy that “Everything, Everything” describes. Skeptics would notice the sheer impossibility of things such as Maddy and Olly’s trip to Hawaii occurring. How did Maddy get on the airplane without a photo I.D., which is something she would be unlikely to get if she’s been trapped in her house for 17 years? How is she going to afford the trip once her credit card bill arrives in the mail? While some may only pay attention to the adorable couple, others will note the absurdity of the plot.

Those who have read the book, however, will expect this impractical romance, as the movie surprisingly sticks firmly to the plot of the book. The minor details left out of the movie, such as Olly knowing how to do a handstand or having a rooftop hideout, are easily forgotten. Some changes are even beneficial to the plot, such as Carla’s, Maddy’s nurse, daughter (Danube R. Hermosillo) playing a bigger role in Maddy’s life, visiting her to talk about Maddy’s budding social life.

However, one missed addition from the novel was Olly making sure Maddy had a condom before they had sex. The sex scene was refreshingly tame, but this one detail from the book would have gone a long way had it been included in the film. The film would have taught its audience about the reality of contraceptives, something historically not touched on in TV shows and movies and especially important with the teenage audience this movie targets.

The movie has been praised for its diverse cast, as Amandla Stenberg, a black girl, plays the lead in a love story. A major upside with this story is how it allows a girl of color to fall in love with a white boy on the big screen without race playing a large factor in the plot, normalizing the concept of interracial couples. Additionally, Meghie, the director of the film, is the only black female director thus far in 2017 to come out with a wide-release movie. Yoon, the author of the book “Everything, Everything” is based on, is an immigrant from Jamaica, and she has spoken about how important it is for all races to be represented in media. Her novel and its movie adaptation is a step in the right direction.

The movie, however, has been criticized for misrepresenting SCID, the disease Maddy has. The Immune Deficiency Foundation released a press statement this week condemning the inaccuracies the movie presented, such as when Maddy describes it as “being allergic to everything.” These inaccuracies are intentional, as the audience is not taught about the destructiveness of SCID. Instead, they learn about the horrors of Munchausen by proxy, a mental disorder where a caretaker makes their child believe that they have some sort of terminal illness. The film accurately depicts symptoms for Munchausen by proxy, with the mother being highly interested in medical affairs. Because of this, the SCID symptoms Maddy exhibits should not be taken seriously. Instead, they should be used to combat stereotypes about people with SCID, such as having to live in highly quarantined areas.

“Everything, Everything” originally sounds like a similar story to “The Fault In Our Stars,” with the illnesses and the impromptu magical vacation. However, the themes that “Everything, Everything” touch on are completely different, focusing on the nuances and contradictions that love and family bring instead of constantly reminding the audience of life and death, like “The Fault In Our Stars” does. While “The Fault in Our Stars” emphasizes the importance of living life to the fullest, “Everything, Everything” stresses forming relationships with others and understanding others’ motives.

And, of course, no one dies at the end of “Everything, Everything.”

The thing about both of these films is that despite all the horrible things Maddy and Hazel, the protagonist of “The Fault In Our Stars,” go through, their spirits are not crushed. They can still live with their head held high. While Maddy and Hazel are both terminally ill and have amazing romances, they do not allow these things to define them. Each of them are still her own person. “Everything, Everything” is powerful for this reason and sends the message to viewers that no matter what, you can power through anything.