The last year of high school is supposed to be exciting: the official transition into adulthood, but so far Mara’s senior year isn’t shaping up to be anything special until Katelyn Ogden pops like a meat balloon during third period pre-calc. Katelyn won’t be the last senior to explode without explanation or warning, and as answers are desperately sought, the body count rises. But even when the world turns upside down teenagers will still be teenagers, and romance starts to blossom between Mara and fellow senior Dylan. But is falling in love the worst thing they could do when each moment may be their last? Or now that tomorrow is no longer assured, will they finally start living for today?
Spontaneous is adapted from the YA novel of the same name (which was a TIME magazine Top 10 YA Book of 2016) by Aaron Starmer (who is an executive producer on the film) and the directorial debut of Brian Duffield. Duffield also wrote the screenplay, and not only has experience writing original screenplays, but also of adapting books to screen, having worked on the Divergent films. And Spontaneous definitely looks to be similar, in feel, to the films already in his wheelhouse.
So, big question out of the way: is this a good adaptation of the source material? As someone who has read and enjoyed said source material, my short answer is: yes. Second biggest question: is it a good, enjoyable film on its own? Again: yes.
It opens on a classroom full of bored students, a teacher’s voice droning on in the background, just on the edge of being tuned out. Our protagonist, Mara, reaches down to pick up a discarded pen, when – ‘BANG!’ the girl in front of her explodes and there’s jam everywhere. (It’s definitely appropriate that Mara dresses up as Carrie at one point for, as in that film, there’s a lot of blood, liberally spread about; for whoever had that job it must’ve either been their worst nightmare or like all their birthdays and Christmases had come at once.) And after that literal bang, the film hits the ground running and never really stops. Even in its quiet moments (and a film with this sort of subject matter needs quiet moments or it could find itself veering dangerously into parody territory), the film’s pace doesn’t drag. It manages to capture the quirky tone of the book, through Mara’s narration, with the addition of occasional asides direct to camera (most often as a device to switch between scenes and set-pieces ).
The film makes the story work in the same way the book does: by introducing the spontaneous combustion conceit quickly and dramatically, then largely focusing on the more typical stuff of YA stories – navigating relationships, the transition into adulthood, pacing out the explosions so that it’s always a shock (or at least a surprise) when it happens, and so doesn’t become a gimmick. The YA material is done really well; the chemistry between Mara (Katherine Langford), Dylan (Charlie Plummer) and Tess (Hayley Law) is superb, (the supporting cast is equally good), to the point where you can almost believe you’re watching an ordinary teen romance – even when they’re all in government quarantine (the unintended parallels to our current circumstances adds a further note of black comedy) – then suddenly someone explodes again and there’s blood everywhere.
The film looks good, with solid cinematography and production values (you wouldn’t necessarily guess at its short turnaround), with a great soundtrack and score tying it all together.
Refreshingly familiar and at the same time refreshingly different, Spontaneous is the kind of film that makes you go, ‘oh, I wish they made more films like this’, and reminds to you enjoy life while you can – a particularly poignant message for right now.
