Finch and Violet Find Each Other in Indiana, but This Film Can’t Escape Its Bright Colors

All the Bright Places is a film about two teenagers finding each other in a small Indiana town, and it wants to be cathartic, bright and romantic all at once. It mostly gets there, but the emotional weight behind it is thinner than the title promises.

The story follows Theodore Finch and Violet Markey, two high school students living unhappily in a small Indiana town. Finch is a depressed loner called a freak by other students. Violet is quietly dealing with survivor’s guilt after her sister Eleanor’s death in a car crash. They meet on the bridge where Eleanor died nine months earlier, and Finch talks Violet down from the edge.

That scene sets the tone for the whole film. Finch and Violet form a partnership for a school project that requires students to explore Indiana together. They bike to the highest point in the state, visit a miniature roller coaster too far away to reach by bike, and Finch researches Violet’s sister’s accident and reads through her old writing. Along the way, Finch helps Violet return to writing and talk about her sister, something no one else has managed.

Justice Smith plays Finch and Elle Fanning plays Violet. Their chemistry is the film’s strongest asset. Their scenes together carry the film’s quieter, more honest moments better than its louder ones.

Trailer, via Netflix.

Finch’s Secret

Finch has a dark past. His father abused him, and he sometimes disappears for days. That secret surfaces during a swim at the Blue Hole, where Finch goes underwater and stays beneath the surface for a long moment. When he resurfaces, Violet forces him to explain more about himself, threatening to leave if he doesn’t.

That scene lands because the actors commit to it fully. But the film spends less time unpacking Finch’s trauma than it does showing him smiling and holding hands with Violet. The contrast between the two feels unearned, like the film is hiding the harder parts of Finch’s story under bright colors.

The Indiana Journey

The film’s central idea is simple: travel the state to find its wonders. That premise works best in the smaller, more human scenes. Finch and Violet reading letters from strangers, Violet refusing to ride in cars, Finch researching Eleanor’s accident online — these moments feel lived-in and specific. The bigger, brighter shots of the state don’t land as well, partly because the film rushes through them.

Alexandra Shipp plays Kate, Kelli O’Hara plays Sheryl, Lamar Johnson plays Charlie, Virginia Gardner plays Amanda, Felix Mallard plays Roamer, Sofia Hasmik plays Brenda, Keegan-Michael Key plays Embry, Luke Wilson plays James, Chris Grace plays Hudson, and John Ivers plays John Ivers. Most of them appear briefly, and the film doesn’t give them much room to breathe.

Where It Falls Short

The film’s tagline is “Live life at full brightness,” and it takes that idea literally in ways the story can’t support. Characters smile brightly even when they’re hurting, and the film leans on wide shots of Indiana to suggest happiness rather than earning it through dialogue. That approach flattens the emotional stakes. Finch’s abuse, Violet’s grief, the loss of Eleanor — these are serious subjects, and the film treats them with bright colors instead of giving them the weight they deserve.

The film also struggles with pacing. Some stretches move quickly, others drag, and the middle section loses focus as Finch’s disappearing acts pile up without much payoff. The ending tries to resolve everything neatly, but the film hasn’t spent enough time building the stakes to make that resolution feel earned.

Key Facts

• Director: Brett Haley
• Screenplay: Jennifer Niven and Liz Hannah
• Novel: Adapted from All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• Runtime: 108 minutes
• Release date: February 28, 2020
• Platform: Netflix

Release Timeline

All the Bright Places is a film with a good heart and a weaker script. Justice Smith and Elle Fanning sell their romance, but the film around them is too bright to hold the weight of its own story. It’s worth watching for the performances, but the final score reflects a film that reaches for catharsis and settles for sunshine.

Elle Fanning · justice smith · movie review · Netflix · romance drama