Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Katie, a 17-year-old, has been sheltered since childhood and confined to her house during the day by a rare disease that makes even the smallest amount of sunlight deadly. Fate intervenes when she meets Charlie and they embark on a summer romance.
Midnight Sun is a competent teen romance with a rare-disease hook (xeroderma pigmentosum) that gives it a slightly distinctive premise, but the execution follows familiar terminal-illness romance beats well-trodden by films like A Walk to Remember and The Fault in Our Stars. The plot is warm and earnest but predictable, with few surprises in the emotional arc. Acting from Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger is serviceable and likable without being particularly distinguished. Cinematography captures the Seattle setting and nighttime aesthetic pleasantly but doesn't stand out visually. Novelty is modest — the nocturnal-love-story angle is a nice hook, yet the overall narrative formula feels recycled. The ending is emotionally affecting in a conventional tearjerker way, landing its emotional beats without subverting expectations.