
During my childhood, it was a popular activity among my peers and myself to read the pages of John Green movements in which the author completely immersed himself. As fans of Margo Roth Spiegelman, Alaska Young, or just in love with Hazel and Augustus, we raced to the cinema as soon as we heard about an adaptation just to see our endless literary attachments on the colossal screen. Definitely the special effects and moving pictures do a good job, but isn’t that a bit over the top now?
“Turtles All the Way Down,” the newest adaptation from John Green based on the novel of the same name, was brought to life by the directing debut of Hannah Marks and the screenwriting of “Love, Simon” collaborators, Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker. Having both read the book and seen the film many years after puberty, I had little doubt that M. Green’s naïve narrative would have remained intact. But “Turtles All the Way Down” is anything but worn. It has a definite potential appeal to the target audience of teenagers and girls and is unlikely to leave the more mature readers.
Aza (Isabela Merced) is an introverted teen girl suffering from OCD, where her intrusive thoughts are most notably her fears concerning infection and the human microbiome, these fears are compared to being within a Russian doll that consists of multiple layers from which one cannot overpower. While experiencing the trauma of losing her father and feeling disconnected from her overprotective mother Judy Reyes, who means well, Aza often seems to be submerged in her own empathy. Aza’s primary companion is Daisy (Cree): a girl in every way, self-absorbed, clever, and relaxed, to the point of vaunting carelessness.
Daisy does not have time for details like that after a local billionaire flees in order to avoid facing prosecution she persuades Aza to break into the man’s estate to see whether there is any cash in $100k for important information. There is an advantage, however, because Aza had previously met with Davis (Felix Mallard), the tycoon’s son, at a summer camp designed for losing children. This meeting encourages Aza to maturely look at the young boy she used to adore. With this feeling comes the affection that Aza desires, but she must remember where she is, and anxiety floods in like the promises of performing on stage.
“Turtles All the Way Down” addresses one topic so close to adolescence that it almost parallelizes the moment the topic of mental illness.
As we are swept away in Aza’s inner world, we are helped by the direction of Marks and the brilliant sound design which juxtaposes Aza’s thoughts with a layer of static. Things do not work that way for Aza or any other character in the film and as for people like Aza or people who feel different, Merced’s heartfelt performance certainly extends them no pity. We are able to grasp much about her previous insecurities through her internal monologues as narrated by Merced; her embracing demeanor and the way she shares a space with Cree’s portrayal of the character Aza effortlessly makes one reminisce about their insecurities. Although she does struggle with many compartments of her mental health, OCD, and intrusive thoughts being one of them, these factors do not deep-root themselves in her identity. Aza hurryingly goes through many peripherals in these moments that crack her into her more expansive self, making the film entertaining and delightful. It’s kind of hard not to find those sentiments relatable, they’re in you in a subtle background of your head and they’re simply just there.
On the regular outside of school Aza, Daisy, and Toaster would jokingly mourn over their unfulfilling love lives whilst eating a truckload of coupons at Applebees. A treating scene in the film having them rap to Outkast’s hit Ms. Jackson isn’t even the only one since Aza’s car has a confirmed CD stuck that plays Stankonia all day. This film also has a very good soundtrack featuring Tame Impala, Billie Eilish, and LCD Soundsystem which are all ears pleasing.
The sweet touching Davis-Aza relationships had a lot of making it great, but definitely has that strong core, I just felt particularly for Mallard’s performance; which varied sorely in how so childish and cutesy it plays in aspect ratio to how genuine Merced is.
Some parts of the movie remind you of the time when your first huge crush made you blush such as some moments that were more or less one-on-one interactions then there were also those moments that you would have wished were real unless there was a high school sweetheart who flew to Chicago in a private jet. But there is never ever a substitute for Aza and Daisy. Despite all their troubles and tribulations, the feeling of being the best of friends survives the love, sex, and germs of the movie. Best Friends don’t disappoint.
John Green fans will be able to recognize the narrative’s odd charm in Turtles All the Way Down. A pleasant and comedic teenage romance, Turtles All the Way Down is disturbing yet Middle American American. Turtles All the Way Down is for the youth searching for it and for everyone else remembering it.
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