Chemical Hearts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
by Krystal Sutherland
- Richard Tanne
- Alex Saks
| Chemical Hearts | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Tanne |
| Screenplay by | Richard Tanne |
| Based on | Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Albert Salas |
| Edited by | JC Bond |
| Music by | Stephen James Taylor |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Amazon Studios |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Chemical Hearts is a 2020 American romantic psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by Richard Tanne, based on the 2016 young adult novel Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland. It stars Lili Reinhart and Austin Abrams. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on August 21, 2020.
Teenager Henry Page considers himself a hopeless romantic but has never fallen in love. He aspires to be a writer and to be chosen as editor of his high school newspaper. The newspaper's faculty advisor disappoints him by making him share the editor position with Grace Town, a new student in his class. Grace is physically disabled —walking with a limp and using a cane. She is also sullen and morose and initially rejects Henry's attempts to talk to her.
After missing his bus on the first day, Henry and Grace wind up walking home along the same route. Although distant at first, Grace relents and offers to drive Henry home once they reach her house. However, she refuses to drive and has him drive her car and leave it at his house. The next day, a mysterious middle-aged man retrieves her car without speaking to Henry.
As Grace begins to let Henry into her life, she shows him an abandoned factory with a pool containing koi fish. He falls in love with her despite her mixed signals and obvious indications that she is emotionally traumatized. He follows her one day and finds her at the grave of a teenager. Upon further investigation, he learns that the dead teenager was killed in a car crash and that Grace had been in the car when it happened—causing her disability and leading to her changing schools.
Their romance peaks at a Halloween party, after which they have sex. It is Henry's first time. They have a romantic few days together, but Grace is still troubled.
On the anniversary of the car crash, Henry goes to her house and learns that she has been living in the room of her deceased boyfriend, with his mother and father (the man who had picked up her car earlier). She finds Henry there and they argue as she is clearly still in love with her dead boyfriend. Henry cannot handle this information and they break up.
One day, after being told by Dom's father that Grace has gone missing, Henry finds her in the koi pool, wearing what was to have been her wedding dress. He takes her back to her home.
As Henry's and Grace's senior year comes to an end, they avoid talking to one another at the school. Grace leaves the newspaper after taking some time off school. After the last issue of the newspaper is released, to which Henry has contributed a heartfelt essay about the biochemistry of teenagers, they meet in a school hallway. Their encounter is an emotional one and they hug, but then go their separate ways.
Cast
- Austin Abrams as Henry Page
- Lili Reinhart as Grace Town
- Sarah Jones as Sadie
- Adhir Kalyan as Kem Sharma
- Bruce Altman as Toby
- Kara Young as Lola
- Coral Peña as Cora
- C.J. Hoff as Murray
- Catherine Curtin as Sarah
Production
In June 2016, Awesomeness Films acquired the screen rights to Chemical Hearts.[1] In June 2019, it was announced Lili Reinhart and Austin Abrams had joined the cast of the film, with Richard Tanne directing from a screenplay he wrote. Principal photography began in June 2019 in New Jersey.[2] Filming locations included Woodland Cemetery in Newark and Emerson Junior-Senior High School in Emerson.[3]
Release
Chemical Hearts was released on Amazon Prime Video on August 21, 2020.[4]
