Love, Simon may be the top contender for the year's most criminally overlooked release. Despite it being one of the strongest films of 2018 so far, people are not going to the cinema to see it! Love, Simon should be appreciated because it is a landmark in film history; until now, there has not been a mainstream story featuring a homosexual lead. Moonlight and Call Me By Your Name both achieved awards recognition but definitely had a niche appeal. Not only is this an important film in terms of representation, Love, Simon is also a well-crafted teen film about love; feel-good entertainment. However the book is stronger so, if you love the film, you will likely love Becky Albertalli's book even more! 

Nick Robinson is perfectly cast as Simon. Robinson delivers a nuanced performance that viewers can easily connect with. Robinson is likeable and hits every mark that the script requires; he acts romantic, angry, nervous, upset and happy. This is a well-rounded performance from Robinson and the best I have seen from him. It would be easy mistake Love, Simon as a 13 Reasons Why spin-off, after all, it features Hannah Baker...ahem, Katherine Langford once again in a school setting. However, Langford manages to show that she can play different types of school students. Her performance here can be distinguished from her role as Hannah Baker; it would have been so easy for Langford to play Hannah Baker 2.0 (which Leah is not). The performances from Simon's entire friendship group are solid. None of the performances are too polished, they all feel like actual school students. However, I was not a fan of Logan Miller as Martin. I imagined the character a lot less goofy, Miller's portrayal did not work for me. 

 Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel are cast in roles that for the most part, are not too complex. However, they each have a key scene where they both deliver and impress, especially Garner. The conversation between Emily (Garner) and Simon was one of my favourite scenes in the entire film. It was one of the few moments that the film did better than the book. The scene is perfectly written with meaningful and touching dialogue, delivered ever-so excellently by Jennifer Garner; it brought a tear to my eye. The core message that "you are still you" was honest, poignant and heartfelt. Tony Hale plays Mr Worth, a character created for the film. I'm not too sure whether Mr Worth was a necessary addition to the story; he provided comedic relief but little more. Hale's performance made the unnecessary character likeable enough. 

No matter how great a film is, if it is a book adaptation and some changes have been made, fans of the book are going to become nitpicky. Alas, this is the section of the review where I *rant* about the irritable changes that were made during the adaptation process. Firstly, in the book, Leah does genuinely like Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) and is jealous that Nick is more interested in Abby (Shipp). In the film, it is teased that Leah likes Nick but is later revealed that Leah actually has feelings for Simon. This is quite a big change and I am unsure why it was made. Does it suggest that men and women cannot be friends without developing romantic feelings? Does it emphasise that nobody expected Simon to be gay? Who knows. I only know that in the book, this created a good character arc for Leah; she starts following her own desires and is able to overcome her issues with Abby. Also, Simon's big sister is completely erased from the story. Instead, we are left with just his little sister Nora (Talitha Bateman) who is a culinary genius (also not in the book!). The story is also shortened down quite a bit; Simon and Blue do not exchange as many emails and Simon does not receive any presents from Blue. Love, Simon has a 110 minute running time - it did not feel that long! - I kind of wish it was 20 minutes longer, the extra time would have further developed the online relationship between Blue and Simon. Oh, and I thought the school's play was 'Oliver', not 'Cabaret'? 

These changes will not bother those who have not read the book as the film still captures the same charm, love and heart-warming moments. The second half is superior to the first; it contains the ground-breaking, powerful moments that make Love, Simon so special. The scenes where Simon comes out to Abigail and then his family were incredibly moving; they sent chills down my spine. Everything about those scenes was perfect. It was also heart-breaking when Simon walks through the school for the first time after the secret emails being leaked. Director Greg Berlanti captures all of the emotions. Simon confronting Martin, Ms Albright (Natasha Rothwell) standing up to the bullies, Leak calling Simon to inform him of the leak, the final reveal of Blue....there are so many outstanding moments in Love, Simon that are ground-breaking, emotional and memorable. The film's authenticity is what makes it so special; the teens react how they should do to Simon coming out, it is not a big drama, he is not treated any differently (by most) and despite being the film's central plot point, it never feels like Simon's life revolves around being gay. Berlanti pokes fun at what the film could have been with a very cheesy Whitney Houston flash mob as Simon imagines going to college. This only emphasised how authentic and grounded Love, Simon is. I also liked how the mystery of Blue's identity was handled; as Simon starts to believe it is a different person (Bram, Lyle, Cal), the film shows that person typing the emails under a blue filter. I'm not sure how surprising Blue's reveal will be to most (I thought the film made it quite obvious) but, as I already mentioned, it sure is a special moment when it happens. 

Aside from a few unnecessary changes, Love, Simon is a wonderful book adaptation. Berlanti captures all of the love, charm and heart-warming moments from the book and transfers them onto the big screen. Nick Robinson leads a great cast and Jennifer Garner delivers a very special and touching performance (despite only having a small role). While abiding by most conventions of the teen genre, the importance of Love, Simon really makes it stand out. This is an authentic representation of coming out in 2018. The book may be better but Love, Simon is still pretty great. It is hard not to love (,) simon. 

77

/100

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF LOVE, SIMON? What is your favourite modern teen film? - COMMENT BELOW