Drawing Closer Review: Love Till The End

For all the romance fans, Netflix has brought a new addition to the romance/drama movie lineup with Drawing Closer. This is a live-action movie adaptation about two ailing souls coming together, so let us see how it fared.

Drawing Closer Overview

This live-action film, based on Ao Morita’s best-selling novel, Yomei Ichinen to Senkokusareta Bokuga, Yomei Hantoshi no Kimi to Deatta Hanashi, has been praised on social media as a “moving and tear-jerking” love story.

Directed by Takahiro Miki with a screenplay by Tomoko Yoshida and music by Seiji Kameda, it stars Ren Nagase and Natsuki Deguchi. The story follows Akito, who is diagnosed with heart disease and faces the harsh reality of his limited time. Amidst his despair, he meets Haruna, who also lives with a terminal illness but shows incredible courage towards death.

The film, produced by Kei Haruna, Sho Toguchi, and Tatsuya Sakano, with Shuhei Akita as the executive producer for Netflix, explores the themes of love and mortality as the characters strive to leave meaningful marks on the world.

– Drawing Closer Review Contains Minor Spoilers –

Drawing Closer Review and Recap

Movies that start between unfortunate souls, who are bound to succumb to death, rarely have something new to offer to the audience. You already know that they are not going to live for long, so you do not expect much from them. But this movie still manages to portray a heart-wrenching story even when you are aware of both the character’s illnesses.

It begins with a desperate boy with a tumour in his heart wanting to commit suicide. Akito is a high school senior with big dreams of becoming a painter, but all his dreams come crashing down when he suddenly falls unconscious one day.

On one of his visits to the hospital, he meets another pretty girl called Haruna, who has a terminal disease herself. She has been in and out of hospitals from a very young age, and by coincidence, she too, is a talented artist. They both become close immediately, but even though Akito knows about Haruna’s condition, he refuses to share his own.

The movie thus begins on a sad note and, along the way, teaches us to appreciate what little time we have on earth with our loved ones, as life is just too precious.

The relationship between our protagonists also blossoms steadily, where they both hold on to each other but never really confess directly. So, if you are looking forward to an actual romance, you might be disappointed. The characters know they have limited time, so they focus on spending time together rather than labelling their feelings. Even bonds with friends or family start off rocky for both, but they all come to terms with their emotions towards the end.

The pacing of the movie might feel slow as there really is not much to show plotwise, and we depend mainly on the daily interactions between the leads. We also get some hopeful music, which goes well with the reassuring mood of the film. Lastly, the conclusion does make you sad and might even make some cry, as no amount of mental preparation can prepare you for a heart-wrenching departure.

Verdict

I loved Drawing Closer more than I thought I would. The actors really do a great job of conveying the emotions of a dying person realistically and genuinely. You hope for the best for them and root for their relationship, but alas, they are cursed from the beginning.

However, again, some might not vibe with the slow pace, which was not an issue for me personally. All in all, I enjoyed the movie and if you are into tragic romances that make you believe that true love really exists then this one is for you.

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