How long does it take for you to make someone fall in love with you? That is the question that The Sun Is Also a Star asks as it tells its story of two people meeting in New York City. Sure there are lots of little things that go with falling in love with someone, but for the movie’s sake we are going to ignore those things and just focus on the core values that are presented to us and believe love is a thing that can happen even as Phil Collins said, ‘against all odds’.
Natasha ( Yara Shahidi) woke up on this day with a set agenda, this is her last day in the United States, and she is trying to stay here. She has a plan to meet with immigration about her future, but along the way fate might have another card to play. Daniel (Charles Melton) has a pretty important event also happening in his life, he is interviewing to be a doctor, but then he spots Natasha, and from what he can tell, she is not your ordinary girl. Daniel sees that, as there are signs that point to this being fate, and his mission is to convince her that the stars have aligned for them to meet. While at first Natasha gives all the reason why love doesn’t exist, but then she soon starts to fall under the spell and realizes that some things are indeed written in the stars. As the clock ticks with her ability to stay in the country, Daniel and Natasha try and take advantage of the time they have to see if what they have is truly fate or just coincidence.
Stories about relationships and love to me always come back to the “Before” series, which for me are the mountain other films have to climb. The reason is because they feel so real and genuine, as in how two people would actually fall in love with one another. Not many films take this road and what they try and do is force a love story happen instead of letting one happen. The Sun Is Also a Star falls somewhere between telling a story about two people falling in love and making up one. The bones are there, as half the movie the two of them walk around New York getting know one another, but this is not just a story about love. This is also a story about immigration and about the effects it has on everyone involved. This is also a love letter to New York City, a city that plays such an important part in so many other love stories. The Sun Is Also a Star takes the right path so often, but goes astray enough that sometimes it feels a bit lost. Just though when you want to give up on it, it redeems itself in the final act enough to warrant sitting through the runtime. The good of the film is enough to fall in love with Natasha and Daniel and their story as it reminds you that love is about so many things, and that there is a good chance you will love this movie and the story it tells.
