Genre: Drama
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer: Jimmy Ellis
Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Connie Britton, Billy Crudup, Taylor Russell
Plot: Aspiring writer Elijah Welling (Timothee Chalamet) is an English major at a small private university. He believed he would thrive when he got there as the scholarship he received was based only on his exceptional writing ability. When he arrived at the university, he found it to be only a waste of his time. Elijah drops out and heads back home to live with his parents, Jonathan (Billy Crudup) and Ivy (Connie Britton) in a small town.
His parents immediately show disapproval but allow their son to stay in their home believing his true talent will eventually show and it will propel him to higher places. Elijah finds himself unable to come up with a story idea, his mind clouded with disappointment, negative thoughts, and anger toward those who didn’t believe in him. Elijah ends up using smoking as a stress reliever. For a while it works for him but eventually it seems meaningless. Slowly his mental state becomes weaker and he loses control of his emotion. Adding to his much needed stress relievers, he resorts to alcohol as well. Seeing this, his parents decide to kick Elijah out of the house. Elijah argues with them screaming and yelling becoming somewhat uncontrollable and on the verge of violence. Elijah gets in his car with what little money he has left and drives to the big city, hoping to get inspiration for his story.
He heads to a small bar and upon entering he recognises a woman sitting in a corner. He walks over and calls out her name, Isabella Marcel. She turns to him and recognises him immediately jumping out of her seat. The two were sweethearts in high school that drifted apart after heading to college. They both sit down and have a conversation. The two obviously have great chemistry. She asks how his writing is going to which he says that he is feeling extremely stressed about everything at the moment and that he can’t come up with anything to write. They continue drinking when a thought pops into Isabella’s head. She tells him that she knows a spot to get some of their stress relieved. Elijah agrees and the two go to meet with Isabella’s dealer. Elijah then sees her paying for enough of the hard substances to be lethal for both of them. Just as she’s about to buy them, the cops rush the building and arrest everyone there. Elijah and Isabella go to jail but get out. Seeing an opportunity with the girl, Elijah offers her help recovering from her addiction. This in turn inspires Elijah to write his story about his own life seeing the strange path and turns it had taken.
After a few months the two share an apartment and continue to grow closer. Eventually both of them completely shut out their addictions. This allows Elijah to focus on his writing. It starts slow having Elijah only sometimes skip out on smaller events in order to write the story. As time passes, Elijah acquires a new addiction to writing his own story. As this is happening, Isabella’s depression sets in causing her to not even want to talk even to Elijah though he doesn’t notice. Hoping to escape the sadness, she goes back into her drug addiction hiding it from her love. Elijah goes borderline crazy deciding to lock himself in his own room trying to write his story obsessed with himself and his legacy. Isabella falls hard right back into drugs and thinks about the repercussions but it’s too late by the time she thinks of it. Seeing no way out of her addiction except for death, Isabella writes a note to Elijah and hangs herself. The next day, Elijah wakes up and finds the note on the table with his love’s body hanging on a noose. Urgently with tears in his eyes, he calls 911 trying to do anything to save his already dead girlfriend. As he’s crying on his floor, he realizes the mistake he’d made neglecting her for his story. He cries clutching the note to his chest. He cries out to her knowing she can’t respond. He reads the note.
The note reads:
“Dear Elijah,
I love you and I always will but I was no longer needed in this world. I only stood as an obstacle in everyone’s lives even my own. This world was harsh to the both of us but it needs you. Not me. I’m nothing but a screw up and a mistake. I couldn’t even stay away from addiction. I’ll always remember you, even in death.
Your love,
Isabella.”
Elijah holds the note tight and blames himself for her death. A few weeks pass and Elijah stands at her funeral. Only a few others are there seemingly only there to get their own remorse from the others around them. A realization comes upon Elijah, it was his selfishness and his need that destroyed his life not his addictions. He realizes that he is the one driving everyone out of his life. Suddenly an idea hits Elijah realizing the story should’ve never been his own, it always should’ve been about her, his one and only. He goes up to the casket and puts his hand on it. A tear falls onto the wood of the coffin. Talking as if she was right in front of him, he says, “I love you.” He walks away from the funeral.
Then a flash forward occurs to about 10 years later. An older Elijah drives in a car. He reaches in his pocket and pulls a small folded piece of paper out and he holds it as tight as he can. He then looks over to see a book sitting in the seat next to him. The cover reads “Should’ve Been Here by Elijah Welling.” Finally the car stops and Elijah leans over his steering wheel, letting tears hit the dash. He looks at the paper reading the same note from the day his one true love died. He folds it back up and picks up the book walking into a graveyard. He walks near the back of the graveyard and kneels in front of one headstone. It reads Isabella Marcel. He sets down a bouquet of flowers. He opens the book and begins reading to the headstone as if she could hear him. Elijah holds back tears with every word. As he closes the book, he says, “I wish you were here.”
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