Before I Fall

500 Days Of Film Reviews Drama, Before I Fall, Starring Zoey Deutch

Samantha Kingston (Zoey Deutch) has everything: the perfect friends, the perfect guy and a seemingly perfect future. Then, one fateful night, everything changes, leaving Sam trapped - forced to relive the same day over and over again.

 

As the day repeats itself, Sam begins to question just how perfect her life really was. Can she make a difference in her life and the lives of others in a single day? Will this set her free? 

Is It Any Good?

Before I Fall is a mash-up of Groundhog Day and Mean Girls with a sprinkling of Brian De Palma’s Carrie thrown in for good measure.

 

Ry Russo-Young's melancholic film (an adaptation of the best-selling YA novel by Lauren Oliver), uses a live, die, repeat premise to explore (in a pretty non-threatening manner) several tween/teen-relevant issues. 

 

The movie follows a group of rather bland, over-privileged girls. At the start it is hard to invest in (or even like) any of them. Everything - from the houses they live in to their overly coiffed hair - feels too stylish, too perfect.

 

 

However, when Before I Fall reveals its serious, emotional heart, it becomes a far more engaging prospect.

 

Of course, this film cannot hold a candle to the movies to which it refers. Nonetheless, Zoey Deutch gives an impressive performance, holding everything together until Before I Fall’s surprisingly powerful end.

 

All in all an agreeable, if not particularly memorable, Netflix watch.

 

Random Observations

Have you seen Before I Fall?

 

If you have, what did you think of this film? Let me know in the comments section below or via Twitter or Facebook. 


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Jane Douglas-Jones
Jane Douglas-Jones

E: jane@500daysoffilm.com


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