All I'm saying is that if 13 Reasons Why could actually do something unique like this, it would be a whole lot better. Brian Duffield's absolutely wonderful film Spontaneous has taken me by an incredible amount of surprise, as it is the perfect culmination of teenage romance, dark comedy, and existential crisis. I had never even heard about this film until last week when I first saw the trailer and while I was expecting to have a lot of adorable fun with its premise, I was not expecting to fall so in love with the twists and turns that these filmmakers take. I can be such a sucker for romantic-comedies and while the idea of people randomly blowing up appears goofy on the surface, this film actually takes a much darker approach that I appreciated an immense amount. Sure, there is plenty of humor to be found and cheesy romance to obsess over but the absolute rollercoaster of varied emotion that this story is able to invoke is something that I never would have predicted from a film of this genre.
Mara (Katherine Langford) and Dylan (Charlie Plummer) are two completely different kinds of teenagers. When students at their school suddenly start spontaneously combusting, Dylan makes a romantic move on her, as to not hide his crush any longer. As the country works to figure out what is going on, the two are forced to deal with the continuous loss of their friends while falling in love and not knowing what moment may be their last. As wacky of a premise that this may seem, the idea works flawlessly in this genre and pushes forward the romantic aspects of this story, which makes the stereotypical rushed romance make actual sense. Duffield's writing and direction are undeniably solid and he is able to perfectly balance the comedy and drama in this film while also sprinkling in a touch of existential anxiety. However, a romantic, dark comedy can not function well without the performances from its leads and the chemistry that they exhibit. Langford and Plummer are spectacular together and this might be one of the only films I can think of in which I could tangibly feel the connection between these two teenage leads. Their chemistry is just off the charts and I absolutely love the casting of them together. The technical parts of this film are delightful as well, including the editing by Steve Edwards and the score from Joseph Trapanese. So many match cuts and quirky transitions were used throughout this film that absolutely kept me engaged, as generic and fun as they might be. Edwards does a great job of keeping this film flowing and that is scored by Trapanese's efforts as well. The original score throughout this movie was entrancing and paired with the indie soundtrack, the music proved to be one of the most lovely aspects. I'm unsure if I was just too emotional watching this film (in fact, I'm certain) but every piece of this movie came together in the most efficacious way for me, mostly including the stupefying writing.
Upon seeing the trailer for this romantic-comedy, I knew that it was going to be a bit goofy due to its just flat-out ridiculous premise. What I did not expect, however, was the transition that Duffield would take to turn this cutesy, humorous story into a genuinely dark and anxious drama. Despite all of the great, relatable comedy that Duffield utilizes, the moment the audience realizes that these teenagers exploding is a careful metaphor for school shootings is the moment that the comedy morphs into cynical tragedy. There is a specific moment in the first act of the film when a Washington D.C. government official says the often ridiculed phrase "you have our thoughts and prayers" and that is when the realization of what Duffield is implementing truly hit me. I was absolutely floored by this transition and I could never see these characters exploding as a thing of humor again. From that point on, I was riddled with anxiety while following these characters because I could never tell who was next. What I love so much about Duffield's handling of this subject, however, is that the theme was never blatant and he leaves so much of the interpretation up to the audience while maintaining the upbeat and humorous tone. This is not to say, of course, that films with themes as tragic as school shootings should all be handled comedically but simply the way he is able to slip that into the story while keeping me entertained and genuinely engrossed in the writing was phenomenal. I also adored the way that Duffield handles teenage grief because with something as graphically shocking as spontaneous combustion comes the trauma that real people have to deal with afterward. From silent grieving to alcoholic mourning, Spontaneous actually touches on what kids this age would do to process the sudden passing of their friends in an authentic way. While often exaggerated for comedic effect in many scenes, there is just something about this director's handling of the story that worked nearly flawlessly for me. My only issue with this film is that the plot itself was a bit predictable. I could have guessed many of the story points that occurred and while there were still some plot twists to be found (that honestly made me sit up and cover my mouth), it was not horribly challenging in terms of its three-act structure.
Never would I have thought I would be adding spontaneously combusting to my already long list of anxieties but thanks to Brian Duffield, here we are! I quite literally cannot stop thinking about Spontaneous and while it definitely will not be as effective for many people, nearly everything about this film worked for me. From the palpable chemistry between the two leads to the surprisingly dark but well-handled twists, I am head over heels for this movie. Duffield has delivered one of the most creative and darkly comedic takes on this genre and one that I can actually fully get behind.
My Rating: ★★★★½
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