Here the Whole Time Review: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)
Here the Whole Time has a genuinely interesting setup and a warm supporting performance from Debora Falabella, but its central romance and emotional themes stay too comfortable to leave a real impact.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)
Platform: Netflix
Genre: Coming-of-Age, Romance
Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes
Language: Portuguese
Director: Daniel Lieff
Netflix’s Here the Whole Time, based on Vitor Martins’ popular young adult novel, arrives with a premise that sounds genuinely promising. It follows Felipe, a teenager who would rather spend his school vacation binge-watching musicals alone in his room than face classmates who tease him about his weight.
His plans fall apart when his mother forces him to share his space for two weeks with Caio, his attractive former best friend and long-time secret crush. What starts as tension and old resentment slowly turns into something closer to understanding, and eventually, romance.
On paper, Felipe and Caio make for an interesting pair precisely because their struggles look so different. Felipe has already accepted his sexuality and is openly gay, largely thanks to the support of his mother Rita, but he carries deep insecurity about his body after years of bullying.
Caio, on the other hand, looks like confidence itself. He is athletic, good-looking, and seems to have everything together on the surface, but he is quietly hiding a secret of his own.
That contrast could have made for a genuinely moving film. Unfortunately, the movie raises these insecurities without giving them enough room to actually breathe. Felipe’s fear of being seen, shown clearly through his refusal to go swimming, is set up well early on.
But once that conflict is established, the film quickly moves toward comfort instead of digging into where that fear actually comes from.
The same problem shows up even more clearly with Caio’s storyline. His fear of coming out, tied not just to accepting himself but to disappointing his mother, is easily the more emotionally complex thread in the film. It deserved real depth and attention.
Instead, it often feels like his journey exists mainly to move the plot forward rather than to explore something genuinely difficult, which is disappointing given how central the coming-out theme is supposed to be.
The romance between Felipe and Caio is where the film struggles the most. You can tell exactly what the filmmakers were going for, two boys forced into close quarters slowly falling for each other despite their history. But the emotional buildup needed to make that spark believable never quite arrives.
The scenes are pleasant enough, but they rarely generate the butterflies a romance like this is supposed to deliver. Even the film’s central conflict, built around a misunderstanding involving a kiss, feels more like a familiar romantic plot device than something that grows naturally from who these characters are.
Felipe barely gives Caio a chance to explain himself, and while that reaction could have opened up an interesting conversation about trust and communication, the film moves past it far too quickly.
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The film’s biggest bright spot is Rita, Felipe’s mother, played warmly by Debora Falabella. She avoids the trap of being written as an unrealistically perfect, endlessly cool parent. Instead, she is supportive and funny while still knowing when to hold Felipe accountable, making her one of the most fully realized characters in the film.
Miguel Lallo captures Felipe’s vulnerability well, particularly in quieter moments dealing with body image, and Diego Lira brings a gentle, reserved quality to Caio. The performances are not the problem here. The script simply does not give either actor enough to work with.
What the film does get right is its relaxed, comfortable atmosphere and its refreshing choice to separate Felipe’s sexuality from his body image issues, treating them as two distinct parts of who he is rather than one big source of struggle.
In the end, Here the Whole Time is a pleasant enough watch, but it settles for being sweet rather than meaningful. With themes this rich sitting right there, waiting to be explored, the film’s decision to stay safe feels like a missed opportunity.