THEN CAME YOU: Sweet Teen Tale Lacks Originality

A dying girl befriends a lonely boy who isn’t fully embracing his life. Heard a variation of this story before? Most likely the answer is yes. In Peter Hutching’s newest take, Then Came You, another duo is here to dabble in the morose, but ultimately beautiful precariousness of life.

This particular perusal into young adulthood is a doughy confection, one that aims to stuff you using a array of emotions. In its most earnest of moments it is successful. In the other, heavier and less modest sections, it comes off as tawdry.

Even with the growing pains, Then Came You utilizes a very real and very potent cinematic feature that’s often overlooked and undervalued (and yet we’re all guilty of feeding the monster here). These aren’t just for Nicholas Sparks adaptations, (though similarities exist, I.E: A Walk to Remember) but I’m referring to the tear-jerkers, and “lessons learned” narratives. They are the prerequisite meat of stories such as this one: to make you emerge with a renewed lust for life.

Or, at least, that’s the attempt.

To- Die List

Calvin (Asa Butterfield) is a hypochondriac. He keeps a symptoms journal and is often plagued by the idea that he’s dying. His most recent obsession is a mysterious mole, so his doctor recommends he go to a cancer support group in hopes it will give him some perspective. Instead, it delivers him Skye.

Skye (Maisie Williams) is actually dying from cancer. She instantly gravitates toward the shy Calvin and gives it her all to get under his skin. It works, and the two venture out to defeat her “to-die list” a variant of the common bucket list. Included (and delivered in a hokey montage) are things like: getting a job, getting fired, riding in a fire truck, shoplifting, and punching someone.

Calvin’s initial resistance to the inexorable Skye allows our two young leads to be playful and remain upbeat despite the circumstances. When Skye first shows up she comes on a bit strong, lending herself to be more repellent than endearing (at least at first and especially to Calvin), but eventually they find a rhythm. Her facade of sass and snark levels out as her story becomes more fleshed. Her story is a troubling one.

Calvin works at an airport with his brother Frank (Tyler Hoechlin) and his father Bob (David Koechner), and he has his own tragedy that is eventually revealed. From afar he lusts after flight attendant Izzy (Nina Dobrev), a somewhat strange romantic interest for Butterfield’s character. As happy as I was that the story wasn’t another romance (their friendship was the best part) between the two mains, this choice was a head-scratcher. Skye helps him to approach Izzy, and the two eventually go out, but if you’re looking for a sweet teen romance this isn’t it.

Familiar Tropes

One element and common trope written in the story that seems unnecessary is the decision to make these characters begin on a note of dishonesty. They met at a cancer support group so, of course, Skye misunderstands this to mean that Calvin also has it. Rather than a quick correction, he keeps this to himself, building the unnecessary and unsettling wait. Does she know? How will she react?

Because, you know, it’s going to be much worse when it comes out later. The same thing occurs with Izzy, the same exact thing in fact. These characters and the themes are enough, without the added push for drama.

Then Came You seems to struggle specifically with having its own voice. Fergal Rock wrote the screenplay which plays a bit fast and loose with the tonal shifts. There’s some underlying dialogue that doesn’t outright feel preachy, but it’s not subtle either. The movie has a sufficient quirk that combines well with the charismatic leads, but there isn’t enough.

As the two act out Skye’s list some of their decisions flirt with the law. Enter Officer Al (Ken Jeong) and Officer Mya (Briana Venskus). Al saw the two at the cancer support group when he picked up his father, and so, again, he believes they are both sick, again. This instigates their leniency and their accommodation on some of the stranger requests, which makes for some fun and lighthearted moments.

There’s a honeyed exterior to the story as the two deepen their friendship, and what began as silly turns serious. When you are watching a movie that focuses on the thralls of fatal illnesses, you are bound to be enveloped in melancholy. It’s never an easy subject to swallow. However, there’s a gracefulness to it without a heavy-handedness. Then Came You toes the line.

Beware: the movie really wrings you out in the end, drawing out Skye’s illness in an undue fashion. It’s sure to drain you. In fact, it’s littered with attempts to console, but not enough to win you over. Both of our main characters deliver on their potential, but the timid teen versus the spunky risk-taking one creates an imbalance in their balancing act.

Williams and Butterfield have an easy rapport, at least – they eventually do, but it’s a tenuous affair. There’s an overabundance of sentimentality, and this cloying attempt to insist on your absolute submission can make this 97-minute film feel much longer. Then Came You is occasionally affecting, but mostly because of the subject matter. I wanted to like it more.

Conclusion: Then Came You

Then Came You doesn’t break new ground, isn’t inciting insightful rhetoric you haven’t heard before, nor is it enchanting enough to forget about the negatives. However, our two leads have the film bursting with such a youthful energy that it’s hard to not at least enjoy the show.

What did you make of the film? Do you agree? Let us know your own thoughts in the comments below!

Then Came You will be released in the US and on demand on February 1^st.