Movies to watch on Netflix: Then Came You review
If you are up for an emotional drama with a great cast and plenty of laughs before the heavy stuff hits, add Then Came You to your list!
Next on our march through Netflix movies you should be watching on Netflix is Then Came You. For many, this will be the first time you’ve seen Maisie Williams since Game of Thrones ended. Arya Stark was a fan favorite so her appearance here alone is likely to get most people’s attention. Then we have the subject matter.
It’s another movie about teenagers with cancer, and it is alarming how many of these films there are. While this one doesn’t completely rewrite the genre, it did feel somewhat different from what we may be used to from these films. Williams’ character didn’t need to feel somehow extraordinary to do what she does, and it doesn’t place some sort of burden on kids who may be going through the same things to be so.
The Story
As mentioned above, Williams plays Skye, a girl who finds out at the beginning of the movie that her cancer is incurable. She takes this news in stride and is a ball of energy and light despite the darkness that clouds her. When she arrives at a support group session and meets Asa Butterfield’s Calvin, she decides he’s the “sad case” she has to take on. Unbeknownst to her, he doesn’t actually have cancer and has only been sent here in an effort to get him to stop acting like he does.
She latches onto him, and once she’s in, he can’t shake her. He’s nervous, awkward and you’d think he was the one that has been told he’s about to die in the beginning. She slowly gets him to open up and, over time, lets him know why she needs him. She has a weird bucket list and she wants his help to complete it.
Along the way, they share some great high moments before things get very real. Not just with regard to Skye’s illness but as parts of their lives start to come into the picture. Their families and their stories.
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Emotional content
While Then Came You definitely starts out as a comedy and has many laugh-out-loud moments, I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was a tear-jerker. As I mentioned above, it’s not just Skye being terminally ill that gets you. Along the way, you learn about her life before cancer and how that has changed. This girl who seems so confident and full of life has definitely lost a lot of herself before we meet her.
At the same time, we learn that Calvin’s issues go way deeper than creating cancer in his head. There are things that have happened to him in his life that caused him to develop this way. They share many great moments and become a huge part of each other’s lives before we reach our final act. Even though you have to know certain things are coming, it still gets you.
Supporting Cast
Moving back to the positive, Then Came You has an amazing supporting cast. Not just in the familiar faces but in the roles they play. Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries) plays Calvin’s crush, Izzy. She’s way out of his league, so he only admires her from afar until Skye becomes involved. Calvin is a baggage handler at the airport and Izzy is a flight attendant. Her partner in crime is played by none other than Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and he is great comic relief in those awkward moments.
We also have a cop duo of Ken Jeong (The Hangover) and Briana Venskus (The Walking Dead, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Jeong meets the two kids in group and later they run into each other in the street a few times. Rounding out the cast we have David Koechner (Anchorman) as Calvin’s father and Tyler Hoechlin (Supergirl) as his brother. The movie makes the most of all of their side roles and it feels like almost every face is recognizable.
Overall
I talked about them briefly in the open but as a fan of both Maisie and Asa since they were much younger it felt good to see them grow into these roles. You always wonder if a child star is going to transition into adulthood and remain successful and these two appear to be well on their way. Then Came You is a movie that you need to watch with a big box of kleenex. You’ll need it early for the crying laughter and later just for the crying.
Then Came You is currently streaming on Netflix.