Review Of Dear David's Film: Exploration Stories And Sweet Self Acceptance

Shenina Cinnamon (Netflix)

JAKARTA - Success with the film The Big 4, Netflix Indonesia comes with the latest original film entitled Dear David. This film was directed by Lucky Kuswandi and produced by Palari Films who had brought a series of films.

Production of Dear David was first announced in September 2022 through Netflix Indonesia Time. At that time Netflix announced seven original titles that would be released throughout the year.

Dear David features three young stars, Shenina Cinnamon, Emir Mahira, and Caitlin North-Lewis. In addition, the film also stars Maya Hasan, Restu Sinaga, Michael James, Agnes Naomi, Anne Yasmine, Jenny Zhang, Natalius Chendana, and Lutesha.

Shenina Cinnamon has been even more stunning since her appearance in the film Copy of Light which has won praise. Emir Mahira is increasingly active returning to acting after completing his studies, while Caitlin North-Lewis is acting after Paranoia.

Dear David tells of Laras (Sherina Cinnamon), a head of the OSIS of SMA Cahaya who is smart and has a straight life. As a scholarship student, Laras often gets scorn from several school friends for often helping school principals and teachers.

Behind his straight life and achievements, Laras likes to express his wild fantasy through a personal blog. He likes to write fantasy about his schoolmate, David (Emir Mahira), a member of the football team at his school.

Once upon a time, Laras accidentally left his blog page unloged-out. As a result overnight, the fantasy blog was spread and began to be read by a school. Dear David's blog also dragged David, who is now becoming popular and a school idol.

Not just ledekan, many people are starting to openly read Laras' fantasy story out loud. David, who is feeling depressed, is starting to get confused because he has no idea who wrote the fantasy blog.

Meanwhile, Laras was asked by the Principal (Jenny Zhang) to find out the figure of the fantasy blog writer. Laras is on the verge of confusion, should he be honest or choose to remain silent? The answer is available through the film Dear David.

Dear David appeared brave, sweet, and relevant. The first scene is arguably brave to describe Laras' passionate and philosophical fantasy. Then the scene turns into reality - as Laras gets ready for school.

Secara cerita, Dear David mungkin akan mengingatkan Anda terhadap kisah Kat Hernandez dalam serial Euphoria atau film Sierra Burgress is a Loser. Topic yang berkaitan dengan cerita fantasy sudah familiar di luar sementara di Indonesia ini menjadi salah satu yang merenarikan dari genre coming of age lokal.

The story itself flows with a sensitive context for the current situation. Many stories are told but nothing is chaotic or ends up being a hole in the film. The common thread that brings together the stories between the three main characters also makes the film Dear David even more fun.

Chemistry per character is also very beautiful. Starting from Laras with her mother (Maya Hasan), David with her father (Restu Sinaga), or Dilla with Laras.

In addition to the story, acting and visuals deserve thumbs up. Shenina Cinnamon is even more charming in presenting a variety of emotions as Laras in the real world and Laras with her fantasy world. Shenna's convincing duality helped the story go well.

Emir Mahira also performed well. The visual fits perfectly with David's gentle, curious, and friendly character. When we heard Emir's statement about his often rejected acting, we thought why many missed the charm and acting of the FFI winner.

Caitlin North-Lewis acted much better than her performances in Paranoia. A bold character and one of a kind could make Caitlin stand out.

The coming of age genre presented by Dear David is also not just about love and high school life. But the issue of mental health, acceptance, and a person's passion is very important to talk about. Watching Dear David requires an open mind and a broad heart.

The film Dear David will be released on Netflix globally starting today, Thursday, February 9 at 15.00 WIB.