Looks that Kill is not your run off the mill coming of age movie. It has a very unique and interesting premise that will keep you holding out hope until the end. By the time the credits roll, you will feel warm and fuzzy and at the same time curse the writers for not pulling off a miracle at the end of the movie. You’ve been warned. Loving this movie will have a cost.

Synopsis: Max was born with a unique condition. He has a lethally attractive face that renders anyone who gazes upon him dead. While attempting to jump off a bridge to end his misery, he strikes off a friendship with a girl named Alex, who is suffering from a terminal heart disease. A romance blossoms between the two but just as they find happiness with each other, things take a turn for the worst.

I was initially intrigued by the film so I went ahead and watched it. While the lethally attractive face condition at first seemed comedic, the journey of these two young people was not. There was great chemistry between Brandon Flynn (Max) and Julia Goldani Telles (Alex) that made them so rootable. They both seemed so genuine and charismatic and they clicked so naturally. You would ship them from the first, just as I have.

I like that the film didn’t portray Alex as the typical cheerful girl hiding a secret. She was just trying to live her life the best way that she could, given her circumstance. She treated people well and they loved her in return. Max was like a puppy, experiencing love and acceptance for the first time, (with the exception of his parents and his best friend Dan). But the most compelling thing about this guy was the mystery of his face.

Be warned that you wait from beginning to end for a glimpse of his lethally attractive face but until the end, the stingy filmmakers only showed a portion of his mug. Even under the bandages though, Max looked like a cute guy, and when I checked his IMDB, I can confirm that he is.

The film had a Moonrise Kingdom/The Fault in Our Stars vibe to it. It even reminded me of Pushing Daisies and these were really good metrics of a good movie. However, the film’s success was really was not its similarities to other coming of age romances. It was in making its audience love and hope along with these characters as it explored the concepts of love, friendship, loyalty, and living.

The ending was bittersweet, more realistic than whimsical, but darn, I wish they sold me a bridge and gave me a sanitized ending instead. Darn you, Hollywood! Still, I liked that they finally solved the mystery of why some people were immune to Max’s lethal charms. When it was revealed, it was like a moment of epiphany. It gave audiences hopeful about Max’s future, after all.

All in all, Looks that Kill was a heartwarming and touching movie. It had a beautiful, quirky, but realistic message. It made viewers fall in love, laugh, cry and wonder. And it kept them interested until the very end. Thanks to a reliable cast and writer/director Kellen Moore, this just became one of my instant favorites.