Plot
Eight-year-old Nica is left orphaned when her parents die in a car accident. She is taken to the oppressive Sunnycreek Orphanage, where she befriends a girl named Adeline. Years later, Nica, now a teenager, is adopted by Anna and Norman Milligan. The couple also adopts Rigel, a moody teenager who is the pride and joy of the headmistress, Margaret. At their new home, Rigel is hostile toward Nica. Flashbacks reveal that at Sunnycreek, all of the children except Rigel were physically and emotionally abused by Margaret.
On their first day of school, Rigel gets into a fight with another student. The students participate in Garden Day, whereby they give roses anonymously to each other. Nica receives a black rose, signifying a tormented and obsessive love, and Rigel denies giving it to her.
A student named Lionel asks Nica out on a date, and Rigel later gets into a fistfight with him. Nica admonishes Rigel for his behavior and he has a seizure, leaving her to care for him. They share a romantic moment. A flashback to Sunnycreek reveals that on one occasion, when Nica was about to be punished by Margaret, Rigel cut his own hand to distract her.
Adeline visits the Milligan home and tells Nica that she wants to press charges against Margaret, and needs Nica's testimony. Nica declines, unable to face her own past. That night, Nica and Rigel are about to kiss when Lionel knocks at the door. Lionel suspects that Nica and Rigel have feelings for one another, and tells her that people would not approve of their relationship. Rigel tells Nica that he is too broken for her and she deserves a normal boyfriend. He also tells Anna that he is rejecting their adoption and leaves the home.
During the school dance, Lionel attempts to sexually assault Nica in a classroom, but Rigel intervenes. Nica and Rigel kiss and have sex in the classroom. After leaving the dance, a furious Lionel tries to run them over with his car on a bridge, but they escape by jumping off into the river below.
Nica wakes up in the hospital; Rigel's body broke her fall and he is in a coma, further complicated by the brain neuromas he suffers from. He is now under custody of Margaret, having rejected the Milligans' adoption. Margaret blames Nica for his coma and says that she will keep her away from him forever. Nica, now defiant, finally agrees to testify against her.
Afterward, Nica tells Rigel in the hospital that they won the case and Margaret will never be able to hurt them again. Rigel finally wakes up from the coma. In the future, Nica and Rigel are happily married and have a daughter.
Reception
Aurora Amidon of Paste called the film "predictable", but "entertaining in its own wild and unexpected ways". She praised the performances of Ferioli and Baldasseroni as well as the film's production design. [12] Johnny Loftus of Decider wrote, "Chemistry-wise, Caterina Ferioli and Simone Baldasseroni have their moments, as far as frustrated lovers trying to find their purpose together certainly can. It is quite possible to root for them. But the setting as it's portrayed in the film took us way, way out of the immediate story, and especially impedes the romance." [13]
Livia Paccarié of The Hollywood Reporter Roma called the film "a confusing mix of clichés halfway between Oliver Twist and Twilight ". [14] Marianna Ciarlante of Today [ it ] echoed these sentiments, calling the film a "disappointment" and "a strange mix of clichés, toxic love, and platitudes". [15] Lorenza Negri of Wired Italia called the film "objectively bad" and "mostly ridiculous", but commended the subject material's message of kindness "towards the anesthetized, insensitive and disinterested generations who fall within the target of [Doom's] work." [16] Simona Tavola of Cinefilos.it rated the film two-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it a film "designed only for Gen Z audiences", but "an above-average package [...] of the young adult genre". [17]
On 7 April 2024, after three days of its release, the film ranked first on the Neflix global charts. [18]
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