TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN -- Isabela Merced Shines in Another Less Than Perfect John Green Adaptation

Review by Camden Ferrell

After writing The Fault in Our Stars, which sold 23 million copies and was adapted into a hugely successful movie, young adult author John Green followed this up with his next novel Turtles All the Way Down in 2017. This adaptation is being helmed by director Hannah Marks and written by the duo behind movies like Love, Simon and I Want You Back among several television credits. This teen movie features a stellar lead performance and interesting creative choices that can often elevate it past the common pitfalls of the young adult genre.
 
Aza is a high school girl struggling with severe OCD that causes issues with living in her daily life. Alongside her best friend Daisy, Aza finds herself trying to navigate friendship, love, and happiness all while dealing with her mental health. This coincides with Aza reconnecting with her childhood crush after his billionaire father goes missing. This is a simple story of adolescence that tries to tell a familiar story through the eyes of a protagonist we may not be used to seeing in media. There’s not much that stands out about the premise of the movie, it does have room to uniquely explore the main character’s mental health issues.
 
Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker have proven to be strong writers of romantic comedy, and that comedic touch is present in this film as well. Some of the jokes may be forced, but the characters do have their own distinct personality that comes out through their interactions. I’d say the biggest problem is when they try and pivot to the more serious aspects of this story. When the movie goes into dramatic territory, it can be hit or miss. Some moments feel emotional, earned, and warranted while others can feel clunky. This typically seems to be the problem when adapting John Green’s source material. He occasionally makes great observations about adolescence, but in digging beneath the surface, he can often come off as pretentious and unnatural at times. This is a characteristic that is present throughout the movie and somewhat sticks out. In trying to be a more thought-provoking young adult film, it sometimes backfires as it makes big swings at many central themes and doesn’t always hit.

The most impressive part of this movie is the leading performance from Isabela Merced who plays Aza. She is one of the more interesting teen protagonists I’ve seen in the last few years, and Merced is able to take on that burden wonderfully. Her moments of stress, indifference, and paranoia come across clearly, and she definitely fits nicely in both the comedic and serious moments of the movie. Cree (formerly known as Cree Cicchino) co-stars alongside Merced as Daisy. Her character isn’t nearly as three-dimensional, but she still brings plenty of life and personality to the role. It’s a nice contrast to Aza, and she brings a naturally vibrant and effortless energy to the role that is exciting to watch. For such young actresses, both Merced and Cree have demonstrated great talent that shines even when the material isn’t the best.
 
In my experience, I have always been a bigger fan of Hannah Marks as a writer as opposed to a director, but this is probably the best she has ever been as a director. There are some interesting creative choices that she makes regarding how to best recreate the feeling of Aza’s mental illness for the audience, and it’s quite interesting. Like the script, she can occasionally struggle in her attempt to transcend typical young adult fare. While it’s refreshing to see writers and directors make earnest attempts to make young adult stories more mature, it just doesn’t always work out. Regardless, there are plenty of moments where Marks’ direction and vision shine and should be commended.
 
Turtles All the Way Down has some great moments supported by its talented cast and entertaining writers. It doesn’t always land, and it still has the John Green brand of Tumblr-esque quotes that probably work better on a younger audience. Despite its flaws, this movie is more entertaining than not and feels mostly unique in the young adult genre and should be commended for its exploration of teenage mental health.
 
Turtles All the Way Down is streaming on Max on May 2.

Rating: 3.5/5