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The original Swedish film, A Part of You, written by Michaela Hamilton and directed by Sigge Eklund, was released on Netflix on May 31, 2024. It revolves around a teenager struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered world following the death of her sister.
The emotional coming-of-age drama stars Netflix’s hit Young Royals actors Felicia Maxime and Edvin Ryding as Agnes and Noel. It also features Zara Larsson, a Swedish singer, songwriter, and Sweden’s Got Talent 2008 winner, as Agnes' sister Julia.
This A Part of You review is a closer look at the movie's quality of production and whether or not its cast lives up to the hype. It also attempts to answer whether or not the film succeeded in bringing the necessary emotions to capture the kind of grief the plotline offers.”
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Disclaimer: This article contains significant spoilers for A Part of You. Reader’s discretion is advised.
A Part of You review: Themes and melodrama—deep and grounded in reality
At first glance, the first half of the film is quite easy to predict. It shows an unpopular teenager who envies her extroverted sister, who seems to have everything: popularity, a group of friends, a fancy social life, and a cool boyfriend. However, there is plenty of foreshadowing in the opening sequence that points to a tragedy that is about to strike.
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The turning point in the film and the lead’s life was the tragic death of her sister. At this point, the plot brought the melodrama into play and depicted how the characters played their roles. While it is a young adult film, the theme and narrative of the film were deeper than initially meets the eye.
The film doesn’t just cover the concept of traditional high school life and coming-of-age. It’s also how a teen discovers themselves while dealing with loss and death.to navigate a life after experiencing loss and death. The movie tosses several themes into the mix, and the storyline could easily get jumbled and messy, but, it didn’t.
The saving grace of A Part of You is Maxime’s portrayal of Agnes, both in her grief-stricken and manic persona. She delivers a range of emotions in small but impactful quantities necessary to capture the kind of grief her character experiences.
Another detail that made the film stand out was how raw and authentic everything was. The teenagers in the film look like teenagers, even with makeup on, which is often used as an expression of themselves rather than to hide away physical flaws. Moreover, the characters sported looks and styles that are very reminiscent of the Gen-Z.
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Characters and their storyline—too large ensemble, too little development
Although A Part of You was mostly a great film, it did have some shaky aspects, including actors not having enough time to do justice to their characters. The actors in the film are acclaimed stars, but there are too many of them, and with a runtime of around 90 minutes, it's not enough to do justice to the characters.
Everyone other than the lead has minor roles, including Zara Larsson, who contributed a lot to the buzz the movie is getting. Zara’s role is limited, like most of the A Part of You cast.
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The relationship between Noel and Agnes added an interesting angle to the film, but their budding dynamic wasn’t explored fully. It only felt like a footnote in the film and didn’t hit as hard as it could.
Another part of the film that could have been explored more was Agnes’ integration into Julia’s friend group. There were plenty of them, but Agnes only had one interaction with Esther in the latter half of the movie.
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Understanding the slow but necessary evolution of the story
A Part of You’s storyline progresses neatly but not in a way that feels rushed. Viewers have found the pace of the film to be very slow, especially in the first half. However, things take a turn after Julia’s death. Though deliberate, it felt a tad tedious and somewhat boring at times.
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That said, one thing to understand is that the pacing was an extension of the depiction of the lead character’s dilemma. It showed her struggling with her identity and being distraught by her death. The film depicted Agnes as she grieved her sister’s sudden death, tried to reconcile the envy she felt towards her sister, and struggled with life in general.
With all the hidden dilemmas in Agnes’ life, the tragic event of her sister’s passing has somewhat put her and her life on pause. This was potentially not just because she is mourning, her sister, but because of an overload of feelings.
It shows how a teenager who has already struggled with her identity faces a tragic loss, before being abandoned by her mother. The Netflix film depicts the story of a teen who depicts the emotionally numbing effect of all these on a teen's life, and Maxime delivered that layered and intimate performance drawing viewers into Agnes’ struggles.
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The middle of A Part of You, however, was fast-paced and a bit chaotic, as Agnes grappled with her sister’s death and her mother’s abandonment. Add that to her existing confusion as a 17-year-old trying to find herself. Her manic episode was not unfounded, an event that progressed in parts as well.
Agnes began by wearing her dead sister’s clothes and infiltrating her group of friends. This progressed into Agnes slowly trying to be her sister, not only physically but emotionally as well.
She started to act like Julia in more ways than one, from her newfound confidence to adopting her sister’s bad habits. She began smoking, then drinking, and going to parties despite being underage.
In a way, she managed to live her sister’s life and get everything her sister had, the things she was envious of at the beginning of the movie—the popularity, the friends, and the boyfriend. However, the question about the cost at which all this came arose in everyone's minds.
Read more: A Part of You ending explained: What did Agnes discover about Julia?
Final Thoughts
A Part of You looks straightforward and predictable at first glance, but in truth, it has a lot more substance, messiness, and themes covered than one would initially expect from a coming-of-age trope.
However, fans who are planning to watch the film for Zara Larsson or Edvin Ryding may be disappointed as their characters are mostly sidelined in the film.
That being said, for movie fanatics looking for a coming-of-age story that holds a bit more weight, the film promises a powerful depiction of a teenager at a loss in life. Maxime’s portrayal of Agnes is gutting, which is the center of the film’s plot line, and she’s able to bring deep emotions in small but lasting doses.
A Part of You is streaming on Netflix exclusively.
