All the Bright Places (2020)

All the Bright Places is special because it treats young love not as a glossy escape, but as a lifeline—something tender and hard-won that can make the world feel newly illuminated. Elle Fanning and Justice Smith have a gentle, charming chemistry that feels lived-in rather than manufactured, letting the quiet moments land with real emotional weight. There’s a nostalgic, road-trip-like vibe to its Indiana wanderings, where small wonders become a kind of shared language for two people trying to stay afloat. It’s a moving film that doesn’t shy away from heavy themes, so it may be too raw for viewers looking for a purely feel-good romance, but if you want something honest and heartfelt, it’s worth the journey.

All the Bright Places is aiming for a tender, healing teen romance that uses a road-trip-through-Indiana vibe to explore grief, depression, and connection. The problem is it often feels like a checklist of familiar YA drama beats, leaning hard into melodrama with stilted dialogue and an uneven pace that can come off dull between the “big” emotional moments. More importantly, its handling of mental health and suicide can feel uneasy, sometimes blurring the line between honest depiction and romanticizing pain in a way that may not sit right. If you’re looking for a nuanced, grounded take on these themes, this might frustrate you, but if you want an earnest, glossy cry-and-catharsis romance with attractive leads and a few genuinely sweet scenes, it may still land.