Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
Life in a Year is a well-intentioned teen romance drama with a terminal illness premise that treads very familiar ground — the concept of a dying young lover and a devoted partner compressing life experiences is well-worn in the genre (The Fault in Our Stars, Five Feet Apart, etc.). The performances from Jaden Smith and Cara Delevingne are earnest but uneven, carrying emotional sincerity without exceptional range. The cinematography is competent but unremarkable, relying on standard visual grammar for the genre. The plot follows predictable beats — discovery, denial, bucket-list experiences, emotional crisis, acceptance — without meaningful subversion. The ending provides emotional closure appropriate to the story but offers little surprise. The film's TMDB rating reflects passionate audience reception rather than critical acclaim, suggesting strong emotional resonance with a specific demographic over genuine filmmaking distinction.