Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe

In this article, we will write a short review of the film Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe. Furthermore, we’ll reveal some spoilers, and ultimately, we will share our opinion and where you can watch this magnificent young adult gay drama.

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Preface to Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe

The drama based on the acclaimed YA bestseller by Benjamin Alire Sáenz centers around two Mexican-American teenagers in late-’80s El Paso. Firstly, Aristotle is a working-class loner with quiet rage and bitterness that he doesn’t fully understand. That’s why he describes himself as he describes himself in the overlong opening voiceover.

The production team faces many tough decisions when adapting a book into a film. One of the most challenging aspects is bringing to life the inner world of a character deeply rooted in a book’s pages. Voiceovers can only go so far in conveying the specific thought patterns that authors capture.

Adapting Aristotle and Dante to Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a challenge. The film by Aitch Alberto struggles to convey the book’s emotional depth and feels like a collection of snapshots. Despite the lead actors’ excellent performances, it fails to capture the original’s poignant longing.

Short plot

On a sweltering summer day, Ari takes a dip in the pool and surfaces to find Dante, a newcomer, peering down at him. Dante looks angelic in the sunlight, while Ari is full of angst and self-doubt. They form an intense and immediate bond. However, their relationship is rushed by the writer-director, Aitch Alberto, leaving the audience only a little time to get to know them.

The young leads need help finding footing in a script short on nuance and depth. The film’s narrative spans an entire year, with Dante moving away at the end of the summer of ’87 and returning in the summer of ’88. During this time, Dante’s presence is reduced to letters to Aristotle that we hear in voiceovers, chronicling a fraught and sometimes painfully lonely journey of self-discovery. Meanwhile, Aristotle has plenty on his mind besides his distant best friend, including his incarcerated brother, whom his parents refuse to talk about.

At times, the plot could be more straightforward. Aristotle and Dante seem more interested in who they are together than in who they might be apart. Subplots about Dante’s ambivalence toward his Mexican identity or Aristotle’s contempt toward his classmates are developed randomly, leaving the audience wondering if they are relics from the source material that got lost in translation.

However, when Dante returns midway through, Aristotle and Dante’s relationship gains fascinating new layers. Consequently, Dante’s performance grows stronger once he’s given more emotional weight to play. His chemistry with Aristotle gains new dimensions as their connection evolves in ways neither is prepared to confront, especially the repressed Aristotle.

Where can you watch the film? You can purchase or rent “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” from various online platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Video, Vudu, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, and Spectrum On Demand.

Final thoughts

Despite its flaws, Aristotle and Dante’s Discover the Secrets of the Universe captivates the audience with its gorgeous cinematography. The plain deserts and limitless skies of Texas are captured with such self-assured brilliance that they make for a more convincing reflection of the contentment the two friends find in each other despite the frequently clunky dialogue. The film’s most striking scene sees the friends dancing giddily in a sudden downpour as raindrops glitter like diamonds on their car windshield.

The scenes that make up the movie are full of the novel’s longing and are truly lovely. Ari, an outsider, feels like he can only be himself when he’s with Dante, but he’s never fully able to open his heart to him. However, without the emotional weight to anchor them and without digging into the impact of these scenes and the aftermath, they all float away into the distance like the stars the boys watch on the desert night.