Spontaneous

I discovered this movie because of its director. I'd seen No One Will Save You and absolutely loved it, and I wanted to see what else he'd done. Turns out, he's only made two movies. But so far, for my money, not only is he batting 2/2, both are grand slams. This is AMAZING. The concept is thus: at a high school in New Jersey, seniors are spontaneously exploding. Not into flames, but like a balloon, spraying blood and bone everywhere. It happens to one student, then another, and pretty soon, federal authorities are involved, and there's a sense of fatalism among the graduating class. In the middle of all this are Mara and Dylan; Mara is cynical and detached, and Dylan is shy and nerdy. The explosions give Dylan a reason to grab life by the horns and ask her out, because who knows who explodes next. What follows is a blend of coming-of-age story, teen rom-com, black comedy, sci-fi, and horror, with probably half a dozen ways to take the themes and plot elements as metaphors. One could view the dying kids as a metaphor for school violence, and it wouldn't be wrong. Or the pressure to succeed that's placed on minds that are too young to handle it. It could be about fear of growing up. It could be about how we process grief and handle trauma. It could even be retroactively viewed as a metaphor for how the COVID crisis was handled. None of these would be wrong. What blew me away was that handled all of these things without actually saying anything about them. Spontaneous has a story -- a weird story, sure -- and it tells that story. It doesn't spend the runtime juggling metaphor balls or forcing an agenda into its narrative. It assumes you, the audience, are intelligent enough to decide if its story is metaphorical or not, and if so, what that metaphor is. It also manages to juggle the genres deftly, knowing when to pivot from one to another (or layer them on top of one another) and have it feel cohesive and logical. One moment, it's romantic and sweet; the next, the kids are quarantined in plastic partitions like E.T. The pacing and direction are tight and sound; there's never a slow moment, and there's never a moment that feels out of place. When it wants you to laugh, it'll be funny, and when it wants you to cry, it will punch you in the heart. It's all anchored by a terrific cast, especially the two leads; Charlie Plummer plays Dylan. He's a sweet, caring, considerate young man, charming in a self-effacing, goofy way, but without being a caricature. The main star, the person whose eyes we see the events unfold through, is Katherine Langford. This is the kind of performance that makes a star. This should be to her what Easy A was to Emma Stone, that signature movie that gives an actor a launch pad. When she is funny, her delivery is razor sharp and biting. When she is sad, she will break your soul. When she is lost and hopeless, you will feel like wrapping her up in a big hug. And when she is scared, you will be too. Her chemistry with Plummer is adorable and genuine. This lady is a star in the making. The supporting cast is also great, especially Hayley Law as her best friend, Tess. Rob Huebel and Piper Perabo as the parents aren't in it a ton, but they're fantastic when they are. The direction is also really excellent here. There's a ton of blood since, you know, people exploding, but you only ever actually see someone explode once, and at a distance. You mostly hear a pop and see the gory aftermath, and I appreciate that. Keeping it almost entirely off-screen and just seeing the aftermath is a smart choice; the explosions themselves aren't the draw here. They're a lever, altering the course Mara and the rest of the kids. The movie doesn't try to exploit that for the sake of shock. And when the third act kicks in and the tone shifts to somber and serious, director Brian Duffield knows when to let humor shine in and when to let the emotions of the moment sit. There's a moment near the end where Mara has become entirely hopeless, and she and her parents are arguing, and she says how it doesn't matter what college she gets into because she'll be dead before that happens; Piper Perabo is so hurt, she has to turn away, while Rob Huebel says nothing as his eyes well up. It's subtle touches like that that make this movie so effective. And the ending ... well, let's just saw it's the right ending. It doesn't force the ending you expect, and it's the right play. I cannot recommend this movie enough. I'm probably gushing over it and maybe overrated it because I just saw it a couple hours ago, But I don't care. This movie hit all the emotions and hit them hard. I cannot think of a flaw in this movie. It is beautiful, it is charming, it is wonderful, and you should find it right away and watch it.