Looking for a great teen romance movie? Chemical Hearts by Richard Tanne might just be it for you! The very beginning of the movie starts with this quote, “You are never more alive than when you’re a teenager,” There are two main characters Henry and Grace, two teenagers, and Chemical Hearts is told from Henry’s point of view, so we see Grace through his eyes. Henry, is a hopeless romantic but has never actually fallen in love. He is a part of the newspaper at his school and has to share the editor position this year with Grace, a new student in his class. Throughout the movie Henry tries to solve Grace’s sadness. Grace isn’t who Henry pictured as his dream girl, she walks with a cane and wears oversized clothes, but when Grace and Henry are both chosen to edit the school paper, he quickly finds himself falling for her. It is obvious that there is something broken about Grace, but it seems to make her even more beautiful to Henry. There are many tragedies in Grace’s past; she doesn’t share her story all at once. This leads to Henry being often confused and hurt, feeling like Grace doesn’t feel comfortable telling him things. Grace uses a cane because she was injured in a car accident, which killed her longtime boyfriend, Dom. This movie shows a great example of a teen grieving and of heartbreak, many teens can relate to this movie and the characters. Not everything is sad though, throughout the movie Henry and Grace do have their moments, and they joke around and flirt; they even have their first kiss. 

Chemical Hearts is based on the book “Our Chemical Hearts” by Krystal Sutherland.

Tanne wanted the film to feel real, so using the Emerson school in New Jersey was the perfect location and provided an authentic high school experience. 

Chemical Hearts is rated R for language, sexuality, and teen drug use. It is streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video at this time. 

Overall, Chemical Hearts is a pretty dark movie but also good. I think it is worth the watch!