Midnight Sun
Sheltered since early childhood, Katie Price, now 17, lives with a life-threatening sensitivity to sunlight caused by the rare genetic condition, xeroderma pigmentosum. During the day, she is housebound, having only her father, Jack and her best friend, Morgan, to accompany her. Katie’s world opens up after dark when she ventures outside to play her guitar at the train station to welcome passengers.
One night, she is noticed, and asked out by her longtime crush, Charlie, whom she has secretly watched from her bedroom window for 10 years. Katie leaves suddenly, and forgets her notebook, which Charlie keeps. He returns the next day, and gives it to Katie when she shows up to retrieve it. He writes his number in Katie’s notebook, and Katie eventually invites him to go with her to a party, hosted by Morgan’s friend, Garver. However, the party does not go well as planned, so Charlie takes them to a safer party before leaving with Katie to go to the docks. He explains to her how he got his injury that prevented him from getting a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley (he got drunk and jumped off the roof into the pool, causing him to clip his shoulder) before kissing her on one of the boats. After the party, they begin to embark on nightly summer excursions.
However, Katie has yet to tell Charlie of her condition, despite Jack warning her to. Charlie takes Katie out for a night to Seattle, where they go to a live show, and Charlie makes Katie play one of her songs on one of the city’s streets. Once home, they go swimming out in the lake, and dry off with a fire on the beach. Charlie mentions watching the sunrise, and Katie freaks out, running home in fear. Charlie picks her up and quickly drives her there, but unfortunately, she does not make it in time, and is exposed to the sunlight for a couple of seconds. Katie runs inside, while Morgan and Jack come home soon after. Charlie still is standing confused at the front door, and Morgan explains that Katie has xeroderma pigmentosum. Once the doctors run some tests, Katie’s doctor comes to the conclusion that Katie’s brain is contracting, and it’s only a matter of time before she dies.
Katie begins to experience twitches in her finger, which prevents her from playing the guitar. She also ignores Charlie’s messages as she does not want to hurt him. Jack eventually convinces Katie to speak to Charlie, who still wants to be with Katie, and does not care about the medical condition. Katie goes to Charlie’s swim meeting with the Berkeley coach, and they hang out at the house with Morgan and Jack. Charlie takes Katie out one night, and surprises her by booking a recording session, where she sings Charlie’s Song, a song she wrote for Charlie. Katie also admits to Charlie that she has watched him outside her window, and the two profess their love to each other. Soon after, while hanging out at her house, Charlie mentions that he has to visit the boat for the last time, which he has been hired to take care of the whole summer. Katie, fearing that she is going to die, eventually remembers the time Charlie told her that he wished they could sail together, and convinces Jack to let her go with Charlie, despite it being the day. Katie sails with Charlie, feel the sunlight, and spend her final moments with him.
About two weeks later, Jack, Morgan, and Charlie spread Katie’s ashes into the lake. Charlie comes by a while later to say goodbye to Jack, whom he seems to have gotten close to, before he goes off to Berkeley. Jack informs Charlie that Katie was the reason the Berkeley coach gave Charlie a second chance and he also gives Katie’s notebook to Charlie. Charlie tries to apologize as he feels he is responsible for Katie’s death, but Jack assures him that they always knew it was only a matter of time before she would die. In his car, Charlie turns on the radio to hear Katie’s Song playing, and tells Katie’s father to turn the radio on. Charlie had uploaded the song to YouTube a few weeks earlier. The song receives over two million views within two weeks. Charlie drives to the lake, where he reads Katie’s final letter to him from her journal.
Classification: 12A