Everything, Everything

I recently watched Everything, Everything, the 2017 film adaptation of Nicola Yoon's novel of the same name. It's been a while since I read the book, but I've been looking forward to seeing the movie for a long time. I love Amandla Stenberg and knew she would be great in this role. Watching this movie gave me a second chance to reflect on the story itself and notice new things.

I loved the use of color in this film. In the beginning, Maddy says she wears a white t-shirt every day, and we also see her wearing white pajamas, robes, etc. This is meant to represent how here life is untouched and pure. White is also the most prominent color in hospitals, representing cleanliness and sterility. As Maddy has new experiences, however, more color is added to her wardrobe. Even so, the colors are all soft, pastel greens, yellows, and blues. This is meant to show her soft and feminine nature.

Maddy and Olly wear opposite colors
to show their contrasting worldviews.

On the contrary, Madeline comments on how Olly always wears black. This is meant to symbolize how his world view is somewhat sullied. He has had to deal with abuse from his father and having to move often. He is a very thoughtful and introspective person. However, his color choice lightens as the movie goes on, showing how he is becoming open to new experiences.

I also think Maddy and Olly wear opposite colors to symbolize a sort of a ying-yang. They come from completely different worlds, but they fit together and complement each other.

I really enjoyed the surreal aspects of this film. It reminded me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Towards the beginning, Maddy says that she enjoys architecture, and every time she makes a new model, she adds an astronaut figurine to it. The astronaut is like her, longing to explore the great unknown, but never really touching it, trapped inside a bubble. Thus, we see Olly and Maddy having conversations within Maddy's models. There's a diner, a library, etc. They look like ordinary places but there's always an astronaut present to indicate that it's a dream sequence. I liked this because watching two teenagers text back and forth while gazing at each other through the window can get a little tired. Having there conversations appear real felt a lot more personal and intimate.

By the time they meet in New York, Maddy has discovered
her own sense of self and her style reflects this. 

I liked how Maddy and Olly made efforts to fit into each other's worlds. Olly follows Maddy to Hawaii because she longs to go there...and she already bought plane tickets. Nonetheless, he tries to see what she sees in the ocean. The landscape of Hawaii is also very bright, clear, and pristine, as is Maddy's worldview. At the end of the film, Maddy is the one who follows Olly to New York, where he has gone with his family to escape their abusive father. In a way, New York is the opposite of Hawaii. It's crowded, dirty, and completely urbanized. However, Maddy tries to fit into Olly's world the same way he fit into hers, and try to see it through his eyes. To him, New York represents freedom and a fresh start.