After reading mixed reviews and seeing its 17% Rotten Tomatoes rating, I had to watch Midnight Sun for myself. The movie came out on March 23, and is showing in very few theaters because of its low ratings. I had to travel half an hour to find a theater that was showing the movie at a reasonable time.

Midnight Sun is about a 17-year-old girl, Katie Price, who has been sheltered at home since childhood because she has a rare genetic condition, xeroderma pigmentosum, which causes her to have a life-threatening sensitivity to sunlight. Katie’s been homeschooled for her whole life but has watched her longtime crush, Charlie, walk by her house everyday. One night at the train station, Charlie stumbles upon Katie playing her guitar and wants to get to know her better. They go on several dates at night but Katie is still hesitant to tell him about her condition because she fears that he’ll see her as a disease rather than as a person. One night they stay out too late and Katie is in the sunlight for one second, which impacts her negatively.

Midnight Sun, the novel, was published in Sept. 2017 but the story is originally based on a 2006 Japanese production, “Taiyo no uta,” which translates to “Song of the Sun.” The Japanese movie has an almost identical story, where the Kaouru has XP and falls in love with a boy she’s been watching forever, Koji. They stay out too late one night and Kaouru runs home as fast as possible, leaving Koji confused as to why she left. The story goes on similarly to the recent movie.

One of the main critiques of the movie is that it was too optimistic. Many say that there is no real bad guy in the cast, the closest thing is a jealous girl who wants to date Charlie, who is in the movie for maybe two minutes. The main villain in this story is the sun. When watching this movie, many became upset with the plot development. As Katie continues to hang out with Charlie without telling him about her condition, the audience becomes frustrated and infuriated.

Music was an integral part of the movie, as Katie enjoyed writing songs and playing the guitar. One of my favorite moments in the movie involved Katie’s song being played on the radio after Charlie posted it on YouTube. Katie, played by Bella Thorne, sings five songs in the movie ranging from “Sweetest Feeling” to “Let the Light In.”

If you’re looking for an unpredictable movie with a happy ending, this movie is not for you. If you are looking for a sappy love story, go see Midnight Sun before it leaves theaters.