In the film, Grace deals with grief and trying to find a new path for her life.

Reinhart said she connected very deeply to the book on its first read, specifically the main character Grace, who she played. Producer and actress Lili Reinhart was looking for a director to partner with and sent the book to Tanne. “I related to that and I wanted to bottle that up, and everything that I did was driven by trying to create that and a sense of truth about that,” Tanne said. While “Chemical Hearts” is not about a very happy romance, he said it was important to show a story about failure, recovering from that loss and finding a way to move forward. Growing up, Tanne said he was inspired by famous coming-of-age stories like “Better Luck Tomorrow” and “Rushmore” that also focus on more serious issues.

The story brought feelings out of him that shaped the focus of the film - on “crossing the threshold from adolescence into adulthood through pain and loss and heartbreak.” Writer and director Richard Tanne said he connected with the story as soon as he read the novel the film is based on. The unrequited love between a hopeless romantic and a girl who has suffered tremendous loss is the center focus of Amazon Studios’ “Chemical Hearts.” Starring “Riverdale” breakout Lili Reinhart and “Euphoria” actor Austin Abrams, this film is not the typical teenage romance story as it tackles the uncertainty and confusion that comes with being a teenager through a tragedy.

Chemical hearts