Midnight Sun

A teenager (Bella Thorne) with xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare genetic disorder in which exposure to sunlight can be fatal, finally meets the neighbor boy she has loved all her life from the safety of her bedroom window (Patrick Schwarzenegger). Directed by Scott Speer and written by Eric Kirsten (adapted from a 2006 Japanese film), the movie—basically a moony, rather maudlin teen tearjerker—gets off to a rocky start, mainly due to Thorne’s jittery, mannered acting. In time, though, both she and the movie settle down, and even manage to become endearing. Young Schwarzenegger, son of Arnold and Maria Shriver, has inherited his mother’s chiseled Kennedy looks and his father’s ease on camera, and his presence seems to exert a calming influence on Thorne, as does Rob Riggle as her devoted father.