The film succeeds by letting these characters reconnect slowly, naturally, awkwardly, by giving them space to circle each other; it looks at them with sympathy, not with judgement.

The film succeeds by letting these characters reconnect slowly, naturally, awkwardly, by giving them space to circle each other; it looks at them with sympathy, not with judgement.
On Chesil Beach recounts the courtship of two young people who have little affinity, nothing in common, and seem to like each other less, not more, as their idyll advances.
Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody made a movie with Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis in it, so what’s a body to do? Go see it, obviously.
It warms my heart that there are movies like Greg Berlanti’s Love, Simon: movies that are affectionate, optimistic, that carry their heart on their sleeve, that feel empathy and compassion for all their characters, not just their protagonists.
I wasn’t halfway through the movie when I said to myself, “This is what I come to the movies for.” Here’s a film that is intimate, personal, and yet truthful and consequential.