The film, which is based on the YA Novel of the same name, opens with a quote from Astronomer Carl Sagan “We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever”and in a sense this is the principle which the movie follows.
Natasha Kingsley (Yara Shahidi) is a Jamaican immigrant who has been living in New York City for nine years but is on the verge of being deported with her family. She has one last chance (and one day) to fight to stay in what she has come to know as her home.
During her desperate attempt to have her family’s case opened she meets Daniel Bae (Charles Melton) the youngest of two sons of a Korean family who have come to live in the US.
Daniel is on his way to an important interview that could determine his future when he meets Natasha.
While our more conservative culture may frown upon (and gasp) upon a one day whirlwind romance, you have to keep in mind the “butterflies who flutter for a day” principle.
You may need to look beyond the cheesiness of destiny and love and look into the stories which Daniel and Natasha as children of immigrants bring and represent. This of course includes the hopes and dreams, heartaches and sorrows of their parents.
For Daniel, he must deal with his parents who are pushing him to become a Doctor even if Daniel would rather pick up a pen (to be a poet) than a stethoscope.
One interesting dynamic between Natasha and Daniel is that Daniel is the romantic while Natasha is more of a realist. These two opposite traits about them make for a bit of a refreshing pairing. While Daniel dreams of ditching his parent’s “Doctor Dreams” Natasha would want to be an Astronomer, which is why the film also tackles the concept of a Multiverse which is always welcome in films of a romantic genre.
While I felt as though the end had a bit of loop holes here and there, it is still a much needed film in today’s political climate which tackles representation and the stories of immigrants, which we need more of. It looks into what your “home” means to you and even thoughts of deportation.
Neil Gaiman said that “the immigrant experience is (I suspect) a universal one” and if that is the case then we definitely need to see more of these stories in films. I for one was drawn to more than the “one day whirlwind romance” – that’s just a bonus, plus Charles Melton’s penetrating gaze and chiseled looks.
6.5 / 10