TW - bipolar disorder, suicide, abuse, death
Last week, Netflix launched All the Bright Places, a film based on American writer Jennifer Niven’s young adult novel. We’re introduced to 17-year-old Violet Markey (Elle Fanning) as she stands on the ledge of a bridge. She is interrupted by outsider and “freak” Theodore Finch (Justice Smith), who convinces her not to jump. They partner up together for a school project to discover secret treasured spots in Indiana. Despite Violet’s reluctance, Finch is convinced he can get her to see the beauty of life.
Violet and Finch, All The Bright Places: Netflix
We learn that Violet’s sister died in a car accident a year ago and she hasn’t been able to handle the grief. She shuts herself off from her friends, her school life, and her parents. Finch tries to get Violet back out into the world by showing hidden places in Indiana.
At first, Finch seems like the typical unrealistic hero: a happy and funny guy who wants to fix Violet’s problems to eventually win her over. However, Violet isn’t the only one who’s going through mental difficulties. During the film, Finch gets into certain “dark moods” where he ignores his friends for days and punches his classmates. In the book, Finch’s moods are described as an undiagnosed bipolar disorder, a mental illness that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs and depressive lows. This is however not mentioned in the movie, but the character is shown attending school counseling sessions and help groups.
Real and true
Young Adult films have a reputation for romanticising mental and physical illnesses. Look at John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars, which almost makes you want to have cancer to experience a tragic love story with your own handsome boyfriend, preferably Ansel Elgort. Meanwhile, All the Bright Places manages to ground the viewer while dealing with delicate subjects like suicide, grief, abuse, and death.
Something incredibly real and true about the movie was Violet’s fear of moving on. When she catches herself laughing, she immediately puts on a sad face again, because she feels like she’s not allowed to be happy without her sister. All the Bright Places showed how it was okay to keep living your life while going through grief. It’s okay to laugh, dance, and have fun, while still remembering the people you’ve lost. It’s a struggle that a lot of grieving people go through every day.
Bright Places also does a good job of showing the ups and downs of mental illness. One moment you see Finch making these grand gestures by giving Violet an abundance of flowers that fully fill the trunk of his car, but then you see Finch dissociating during chats with his friends and having a mental breakdown when he’s alone.
Raising awareness
Although we see a good portrayal of mental illness, this movie definitely needed a trigger warning. It’s based on a young adult book, and even though Netflix says the movie is 16+, young adult fans are much younger than that. We read All the Bright Places when we were 13 years old. It’s a period where you’re easily influenced by the things we see on television.
However, before the end credits, we see that the movie is dedicated to those who have been impacted by mental health concerns, suicide, or grief. Afterward, they mention resources where you can get help.
Even better, Netflix posted an informational talk featuring Bright Places writer Jennifer Niven, two experience experts, Elle Fanning and Justice Smith. What’s remarkable is that they actually show a trigger warning for this 14-minute video, stating that it may not be suitable for viewers who are experiencing mental health issues as it could be triggering. It’s a warning that the movie itself needed as well.
We learn that Niven experienced a similar story, which we won't spoil, in real life and wrote the book to deal with her grief. She handles the topic with care and it's obvious she cares a lot about the mental health of her readers and the film's viewers. The video mainly serves as a helpful informational panel for people who don’t struggle mentally themselves.
Bright places in dark times
By making the movie into a love story, of course, there’s an added risk to potentially romanticising mental illness. Still, it didn’t try to appear more appealing or aesthetically pleasing. The movie showed the gorgeous parts of falling in love while showing the awful sides of mental illness. Therefore, with now having given you a trigger warning, All the Bright Places is definitely a must-watch!
Our ratings
To see if a movie or show portrayed mental illness correctly, we've created three requirements it should live up to. Each requirement is based on interviews we've done with experts and will be rated on a scale of 1 to 5 #'s.
1.Is there a reason for the character to act / feel like this? #####
2. Is the character portrayed as a human being instead of a bad person / villain? #####
3. Is there a message of hope included? #####
If you ever think about suicide or self-harm, and are in need of a conversation, then you can always contact the Suicide Hotline on the number 1813 or www.zelfmoord1813.be for Belgium. For international helplines, please click this link.
Text: Femke Lippens