With films such as Nobody Walks and the underrated Before I Fall, Ry-Russo Young isn’t content to just do the same ol’ thing. Her latest stab at the YA genre definitely doesn’t fit neatly into that category, either. The Sun Is Also A Star is based on the acclaimed novel by Nicola Yoon that has exactly what you’d expect: a hopeless romantic, someone who is guarded emotionally, and a love that seems like destiny. And then it has something you don’t expect, which is a story based around this country’s immigration policy.
Starring Black-ish‘s Yara Shahidi and Riverdale‘s Charles Melton, the film centers Jamaica-born Natasha who meets and falls in love with college student Daniel over the course of a day. But this newfound romance is immediately threatened as Natasha and her family are on the verge of being deported.
Without knowing anything about it I would’ve thought this was a Barry Jenkins movie because the cinematography by Autumn Durald Arkapaw is so gorgeous. But beyond the beautiful imagery there’s the central romance which is both timely and diverse. I’m looking forward to this in a big way, especially with a script by Girls Trip writer Tracy Oliver.
Here’s the official synopsis: College-bound romantic Daniel Bae and Jamaica-born pragmatist Natasha Kingsley meet—and fall for each other—over one magical day amidst the fervor and flurry of New York City. Sparks immediately fly between these two strangers, who might never have met had fate not given them a little push. But will fate be enough to take these teens from star-crossed to lucky in love? With just hours left on the clock in what looks to be her last day in the U.S., Natasha is fighting against her family’s deportation as fiercely as she’s fighting her budding feelings for Daniel, who is working just as hard to convince her they are destined to be together.
A modern-day story about finding love against all odds, “The Sun Is Also a Star” explores whether our lives are determined by fate or the random events of the universe.
The Sun Is Also A Star opens May 17th.
