‘Life in a Year’ Pairs Cara Delevingne and Jaden Smith in a Familiar Yet Moving Story of Love and Uncertainty 

Alci Rengifo

There is no other constant theme in drama like star-crossed lovers. “Life in a Year” is a Romeo & Juliet story about fate, conformity and how overachieving parents create suffocating environments. But above all that, it’s also a rather mature film about how life has a way of ruining our plans, often in heartbreaking ways, whether you’re young or aged. It is also Polish director Mitja Okorn’s U.S. directorial debut, after having made a name for himself in his home country with dramas and romantic comedies. “My films were both funny and emotional, people cried when they watched them,” Okorn tells Entertainment Voice. “The first script my American agency sent me was ‘Life in a Year,’ I couldn’t believe it. I cried at the end. I was lucky. It was totally down my alley.”

Set in a comfortable suburban world, the story focuses on Daryn (Jaden Smith), a high schooler attending a private institution and living life per the strict commands of his father, Xavier (Cuba Gooding Jr.). The set life plan is to attend Harvard, then Yale Law School, then become a successful example of Xavier’s idea of a proper life. When Daryn tries to sneak into a concert with some friends, he locks eyes with Isabelle (Cara Delevingne), a rebel with hair dyed blue who works at a local ice cream shop. Daryn decides to ask her out and is at first rattled by her own, differing personality. Isabelle doesn’t go to school and scoffs at Daryn’s meticulously structured life plans. She also senses his talents may lie elsewhere and law isn’t necessarily his natural passion. But soon enough he’s madly in love with her and tries to take the relationship to the next level. Isabelle is hesitant, especially because she’s harboring a major secret about her health.

“Life in a Year” is a romance in the tradition of movies like “Love Story” or “The Fault in Our Stars,” where the hope of youthful love is suddenly shaken by unforeseen events. They are allegories for how life is simply unfair, in this case that’s a lesson in both romance and conformity, as Isabelle tries to shake Daryn out of the idea that only his father’s strict, upper class codes matter. For Okorn it was also a challenge to his own previous style in Poland. While this story is essentially a young adult drama, he mines it for universal depths. “It was very important to do it so it’s honest and from the heart,” says Okorn, “I didn’t want to be pretentious. Many times I see films like this, where sickness becomes the main plot point, and they start to be made mechanically, you know? They get pretentious. I said to myself, ‘this has to be honest and full of the energy that Jaden and Cara have, it should be edgy and a little gritty.’ It’s kind of hard to make that kind of movie in Hollywood. Many times I would tell the team, ‘let’s just take the camera and go drive with Jaden and Cara and see what we find and record.’ Well, you can’t do that when you’re doing a Sony Pictures film! You have trucks and someone measuring the air. For everything there are five people while in Poland you have one person for one thing (laughs).” 

How “Life in a Year” deals with class is keen in the taught screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. Not only is Cara ill, but she also deals with being suddenly adored by a guy who can’t relate to her economic situation. Jaden Smith is descended of course from pop culture royalty as the son of Will Smith, so he fits naturally into the role of at least a kid who has never lacked for material needs. Cara Delevingne is never some damsel in distress, but a quick wit and independent mind who doesn’t suffer fools. She feels her time in this world is running out, so it’s best to live instead of being given commands. Isabelle sees that Devyn might even have a natural talent for rapping, but just needs someone to push him to actually pursue it. “Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are great people, but also very emotional people, they love to cry too,” says Okorn. “When we had the first script reading I thought, ‘oh shit, Will Smith is here.’ He was sitting three chairs behind me and by the end of reading the script even he was crying. What matters is that everyone involved loves the material, because then you’re all working for the same goal. The part had always been for Jaden Smith, all he had to do was cut his dreadlocks (laughs). But for Isabelle we were searching through so many actresses. My assistant suggested Cara Delevingne, who if you look into thoroughly does so much. She does music, kickboxing, she’s funny. I knew I wanted to use someone with this kind of energy. I just knew she was Isabelle. When we met she was willing to go so far, she said ‘I will shave my head and even my eyebrows!’ But I had to say, ‘look, your head, maybe, but your eyebrows are probably worth more than the movie.”

“Life in a Year” becomes a fun journey full of bittersweet heart as Isabelle and Devyn also try to make the most of what time Isabelle might have left, defying the rules and carrying out acts of bold rebellion, some as absurd as shoplifting snacks. It ends as it should, with every character having learned much about themselves, and sobering up to what matters in life. “These stories are universal and I hope to tell more stories like this. Film language is starting to become universal,” says Okorn. “People need positive stories because there is so much negativity in the world. At the end of the day, yes, this is a story about a teenager battling illness, but it brings a lot of hope as well. This story is coming out at the right time. The universe knows what it’s doing.”

“Life in a Year” begins streaming Nov. 27 on Amazon Prime Video.