Turtles All the Way Down

Grade: B

The main character of Turtles All the Way Down has OCD. She is a germaphobe – frequently washing her hands, and always has a band-aid on the fingertip of her middle finger on her right hand, from picking at a callus. She also gets into what they call “thought spirals,” in which she mentally checks out to dwell on trivia about bacteria and/or what sickness she’s probably getting right now. If you have a tendency to have a thought spiral for any reason, this film will really speak to you on that level.

She is high schooler Aza Holmes. When we first meet her, she’s in a session with her therapist. She hasn’t been taking her meds consistently enough for them to have any effect. Her attitude towards it is similar to mine. I’ve been down that road, and was always hesitant. The idea that people didn’t like how I was and wanted me to pump myself full of chemicals that brainwashed me and made me different didn’t sit well with me. If I get better and improve as a person, I want it to be because I lived and learned and matured and grew naturally – not because I took some damn pill that changed me. This might be a pretty hot take. I’m not knocking the people who are on medication of this nature. If it’s what you want, and it’s making you better, then awesome. More power to you. I’m just speaking for myself. I’ve had this view since my teenage years, and haven’t been able to shake it.

I got off on a little rant there, but how refreshing it is to have a movie (much less a Young Adult one) that tackles the subject of mental health and brings up such strong feelings. Turtles All the Way Down has other balls in the air; there’s a Nancy Drew mystery element that doesn’t take up as much airtime as advertised. A local billionaire has disappeared, to evade some impending charges. There’s a $100,000 reward for anyone who can find him, or any pertinent information. Aza and her best friend Daisy take it upon themselves to explore the sprawling property for clues. The man’s son is teenager Davis, who Aza knows from camp a while back, but they haven’t seen each other for some time. Aza and Davis reconnect when a security guard catches her and Daisy on one of their sleuthing missions, and brings them up to the house. There are some romantic butterflies between Aza and Davis. The whole detective bit gets put aside for a while, and the movie becomes more about young love and its trials. How can you kiss someone without worrying what kind of bacteria you might be taking in?

As Aza, Isabela Merced is a wonderful talent. This is the third film of hers I’ve seen, and they have all been this year. I’ve blocked out much of Madame Web, but apparently she was in that, and she did a voice in Migration. I won’t forget her again. She has a sweet, expressive face, and can carry a movie like this as the lead. One of her best scenes is on their first date. Her answer to the dreaded “what are you thinking” question is a word vomit monologue about sickness and parasites and the like. When he says “that’s cool,” watch her eyes light up and relief wash over her. Somebody is listening, and gets her – finally. We sporadically go back to the fearless look at the mental condition, and that’s one of the places where Turtles All the Way Down shines the most. And then, for the final chapters, it’s as if the filmmakers underestimate the target audience, and think maybe they’re not ready for such a deep delve, and so we settle into an easy, soft landing. Aza has a fight with every major person in her life at the same time, and we can almost hear the screenplay machinery creaking.

The third act is not as delightful as what came before. Near the end, the movie does return to the mystery subplot – quickly, sloppily, and seemingly as an afterthought, like “Oh yeah! You probably want to know what happened here. Let’s give that a resolution.” I give it credit for taking the road less traveled with another particular plot thread. It ends with a speech that isn’t the most naturalistic in the world, and wouldn’t have the same impact without underscoring music, which of course we don’t have in real life. But it’s well-performed. It falters at the end, but Turtles All the Way Down has an endearing lead performance, compelling stuff about mental health, and overall, enough in the tank to make it one of the better YA films I have seen.

Grade: B