''Life in a Year'' is a 2020 American

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

film directed by

Mitja Okorn Mitja Okorn (born 26 January 1981) is a Slovenian film director and screenwriter. Most known as director of '' Letters to Santa'', '' Planet Single'' and his Hollywood debut '' Life in a Year''. Early life He was born on 26 January 1981 in Kra ...

, from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. The film stars

Jaden Smith Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998), also known mononymously as Jaden, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He has received various accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Movie Award, a BET Award and a Young Artist ...

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014. Delevingne sta ...

Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appeare ...

, and

Nia Long Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sit ...

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

and

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

serve as executive producers under their

Overbrook Entertainment Overbrook Entertainment is an American production company based in Culver City, California. It was founded by partners Will Smith and James Lassiter in 1998, around the same time production for ''Wild Wild West'' (1999) was started. The name "Ove ...

banner. ''Life in a Year'' was released on November 27, 2020, by

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

Plot

Daryn, who is being groomed to get into Harvard by his father Xavier, meets Isabelle one night while trying to sneak into a rapper’s concert and is instantly drawn to her. He courts and eventually falls in love with her but when Daryn confesses his love, Isabelle reveals that she has cancer and hasn't got much time left. So, Daryn makes a plan to live a life in a year. Isabelle recognises his potential as a rapper and helps him to make his first demo CD. When Daryn takes her to meet his parents. Xavier, disliking Isabelle, uses the moment to fire questions at her. He concludes by saying it is his responsibility to protect his son from distractions, such as girls; especially those like Isabelle. Feeling offended and rejected, Isabelle and her drag queen, parental figure Phil leave and Daryn is left alone and depressed. A few days later, Daryn is shortlisted at Harvard and he attends his interview with his father. When asked what skills and abilities he has, he loses himself to memories of Isabelle. To his father's disappointment, he ends up saying worthless things and excuses himself. Later at home, Daryn quarrels with his father and is almost punched by him but his mother intervenes and stops the fight. Daryn goes to Isabelle and apologizes, deciding to abandon his family and leave town with Isabelle. The two spend days together, and one day Daryn tries to surprise her by drives her to her mother's. He convinces her to talk with her, but when she does, her mother recognizes her but tells her to leave. Feeling rejected, Isabelle asks Daryn to drive away. While driving, an upset Isabelle starts yelling and shouting at Daryn, distracting him so he crashes into a bush near the beach. When Isabelle gets out, she goes unconscious. Daryn calls for help, and manages to get Isabelle to the hospital. A few days after Isabelle is discharged, her mother comes to visit but soon leaves. Daryn's mother discovers that he is back in town and decides to see them. Isabelle suggests that Daryn take a break from taking care of her just for the day, as his mother is around. Daryn uses the opportunity to record his second song. When Daryn gets back, he finds his mother panicking and Isabelle on the floor, unconscious and bleeding through her mouth. They get her to the hospital and there, they discover that Isabelle's cancer has spread and her organs are shutting down. The nurse concludes by saying that Isabelle's got only a few weeks left. Soon after Isabelle is discharged, she surprises Daryn with a wedding. They get married and consummate their love, Isabelle passes away a short time later. Daryn reconciles with his father and moves to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to pursue a career in music after graduating.

Cast

as Daryn *

as Isabelle *

as Catherine *

as Xavier *

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

as Ron *

Chris D'Elia Christopher William D'Elia (born March 29, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom ''Whitney'', Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'', Kenny on the A ...

as Phil * Stony Blyden as Kiran * JT Neal as Sammy *

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

as Himself *

Pedro Miguel Arce Pedro Miguel Arce (17 June 1976 – 9 December 2022) was a Nicaraguan film and television actor based in Canada. He was known for his roles in ''Land of the Dead'' and ''Get Rich or Die Tryin' (film), Get Rich or Die Tryin, as well as televi ...

as Security Guard

Production

In March 2017, it was announced

and

had joined the cast of the film, with Mitja Okorn directing from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews.

and

will serve as executive producers via their

banner. In April 2017,

Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films ''Dead Presidents'' and '' Mr. Holland's Opus'', Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles ...

, Stony Blyden,

and JT Neal joined the cast of the film. In May 2017,

and

joined the cast of the film, with Gooding Jr. replacing Howard.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in April 2017, in

Toronto, Ontario, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

Release

The film was released on November 27, 2020, by

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 6598238 2020 films 2020 romantic drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s teen drama films 2020s teen romance films Amazon Studios films American romantic drama films American teen drama films American teen romance films Columbia Pictures films Films about cancer Films about death Films about interracial romance Films scored by Photek Films set in Pittsburgh Films shot in Toronto Overbrook Entertainment films Amazon Prime Video original films 2020s American films