‘The Half of It’ is based on director Alice Wu’s experiences as an Asian-American lesbian

The new Netflix movie “The Half of It” is about 17-year-old Ellie Chu, an introvert who makes money by writing essays for people. She meets a jock named Paul, who hires her to help him win over a popular girl named Aster. However, Ellie develops a crush on Aster too. Instead of competing for Aster, Ellie and Paul develop their own friendship.

“What is it when you meet someone and it’s almost like you’ve met your soulmate, but you have no desire to have sex with each other? What is that intimacy?” says director Alice Wu.