The course of true love never did run smooth, particularly for teenagers and especially when one has a supernatural secret. This time, it’s witchcraft – or in the film’s parlance, “casting” – rather than, say, vampirism, but there’s a curse to spice up the small town soap of this novel adaptation.
The film has followed the familiar formula of casting unknown leads in Ehrenreich and Englert, both fine, and surrounding them with serious actors cashing in – Davis, Thompson and Irons – but sticks too closely to the book’s complicated and overlong plot. Lacking in action and not quite charming enough to compensate, this falls a little flat.
