Before I Fall
2017 · Directed by Ry Russo-Young
Original language: English
- drama
- fantasy
The story
Samantha Kingston has everything. Then, everything changes. After one fateful night, she wakes up with no future at all. Trapped into reliving the same day over and over, she begins to question just how perfect her life really was.
What it’s like
Bright suburban daylight and warm, slightly overexposed teen-party evenings, with a handheld-leaning camera that stays close to its protagonist's face and lingers on glossy high-school hallways, parked cars and pastel bedrooms. The palette is sunny and sugary at first, then gradually drains toward cooler, greyer tones as the repeating day wears on. Its score is a soft, electronic-tinged pop mix punctuated by quiet piano, and the loops are marked by abrupt returns to the same morning. Vibe: bittersweet, anxious and sun-faded, with a nagging undertow of unease. It suits a late-afternoon watch or a sleepy weekend alone rather than a loud group night. The pacing is brisk and cyclical, with the emotional register shifting from carefree to raw as a self-absorbed teenage girl slowly, painfully reckons with how she treats the people around her. The film deals directly with suicide, which is shown and discussed in a way that is emotionally heavy; there is some teen drinking, sexual talk and make-out scenes, and a few sharp moments of cruelty between classmates, but no graphic violence. For viewers who want a young-adult drama with a time-loop hook and a serious, reflective core, and who can handle its suicide content.
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