REVIEW #21 Life In A Year (2020)

Life in a year is a drama directed by Mitt Okorn, following Daryn as he is distracted from his strict, regime lifestyle by a young girl named Isabelle. As we see their love story unfold, Daryn finds out that Isabelle is terminally ill and only has a year to live. So he starts planning a life full of milestones, in just a year.

CAST & THE ACTING (8.5/10)

I think this film got it spot on here, Jaden Smith plays Daryn and Cara Delevinge delivers a fantastic performance as Isabelle. Her acting was brilliant, from the more vulnerable scenes where Isabelle is struggling with her illness, to the overwhelming joy she has in those special moments with Daryn. What really made this a good film for me was the dynamic between these two actors, it seemed so authentic and so natural which really got you invested in their relationship. Cuba Gooding Junior plays Daryn’s father and he also provides a strong performance as the strict, controlling father. This tough relationship between a father and son gave this film an extra layer of depth which sets it apart from the many other films that have a similar storyline. I must credit Jayden Smith here as well because he plays this character brilliantly, a person experiencing love for the first time whilst struggling to keep his fathers approval and on top of that he then has to come to terms with the fact his girlfriend is dying. So strong score here!

PLOT & THE STORYLINE (8.5/10)

Usually I would deduct marks for an overused, perhaps predictable storyline but I believe this film shows a lot more than a love story between a young man and his dying girlfriend. We had Daryn’s relationship with his father and also his struggle between his true ambitions and the plans his family had for him. Not only did we see him care for Isabelle but we also saw her push him to peruse his goals of making music which played a key part throughout the film. I think these nice little sub plots really made this a good film and help build up these characters. Which makes the ending, even if it was expected, very emotional! 

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS (8/10)

There’s not really much to mention in terms of special effects but I think the cinematography was really well done. There were many scenes where the camerawork and the colour of the visuals really made it more intimate which help build that genuine relationship between Daryn and Isabelle. One particular scene was where Isabelle is starting to get really ill and Daryn’s helping her clean in the bath. It’s a really sad, yet intimate scene which was really complimented by the colour and the visuals. So I think it deserves a good score here! 

OVERALL (8.3/10)

I have watched many of these type of films now, a love story where one of them is terminally ill and then the sad ending where they finally pass away and although there are so many films telling the same story I do think this is my favourite one I have watched. The little sub plots give it some extra depth and the dynamic between Cara Delevinge and Jaden Smith is brilliant! So I really enjoyed this and even though the ending is expected it’s still very emotional and the actors done extremely well in making those emotions authentic. So I would recommend this film, especially if you love a romance drama sort of film, then this is right up your street.

Thanks for reading

Callan