148. Midnight Sun; movie review

MIDNIGHT SUN
Cert 12A
91 mins
BBFC advice: Contains underage drinking

Sniff, sniff, sniff... the two girls in the row behind me were clearly beside themselves at the unfurling sadness during Scott Speer's Midnight Sun.
About a month ago, I decried the lack of genuine weepies in modern cinema. I was unaware of Speer's film otherwise I would have refrained from such a statement.
Midnight Sun is a full-blown tear-fest and even I had to wipe my cheek, surreptitiously, during its closing moments.
But it also manages to be uplifting in the face of its lead character's extreme adversity.
Bella Thorne stars as Katie Price, a sufferer of a very rare disease, known as XP, which means that even one ray of sunlight could kill her.
Thus, she has spent her 18 years indoors during the day and outdoors in the evening.
However, the pressure on trying to lead a normal life is overwhelming, especially when she approached by the boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger) on whom she has had a crush through her bedroom window.
Midnight Sun revolves around Katie trying not to be defined by her disease by having a conventional boy-girl relationship.
However, while she defiantly tries to hang on to a slice of normality, the audience knows that this is going to be doomed to failure.
Thorne is rather splendid in the lead role - full of vitality while oozing frustration at the same time.
I can't recall seeing Schwarzenegger before but he has clearly learmed his acting from someone more proficient than his famous dad.
Thankfully Thorne and Schwarzenegger have a chemistry which the film demands and create a relationship which is believable enough to prompt sniffles.
Meanwhile, Rob Riggle gets the tone of Katie's single-parent dad just right and Quinn Shephard is spot-on as her devoted best friend.
Speer's film has a couple of plot-holes which are as glaring as mid-day in the Sahara and it will be considered too cheesy by some but I thought it did its job in pulling at the heartstrings of its audience.
Certainly, the two young women seated behind me at Nottingham Cineworld would concur.

Reasons to watch: An old-fashioned weepie
Reasons to avoid: A little bit too cheesy in places

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Director quote - Scott Speer: "It struck me as a story that was incredibly unique, about a disease that is so rare and yet at the same time it is about an experience that everybody goes through."

The big question - How many people suffer such a horrible disease?

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