The movie “Before I Fall” poses an important question to its audience: What would you do if you only had one day to change everything about your life? Based on the best-selling book “Before I Fall” by Lauren Oliver, this film does a dull and repetitive job at trying to interpret the tumultuous high school experience.
“Before I Fall” is an extremely monotonous mix between the movies “Groundhog Day” and “Mean Girls.” The dreariness of each scene mixed with a gloomy Pacific Northwest setting makes for a depressing and mundane film.
The film is centered around Samantha Kingston, played by Zoey Deutch, a high school student who appears to have it all. She has the perfect boyfriend, popular friends and a bright future ahead of her. However, as the movie progresses, her seemingly flawless life falls apart.
The film opens with Kingston waking up to her alarm on Feb. 13. Kingston displays a rude and bitter attitude toward her family as she gets ready for school. Her friend Lindsey, played by Halston Sage, waits outside with coffee. As the girls drive to school and pick up the rest of their privileged friend group, it is quickly revealed that this group is anything but nice. As the movie continues, the students attend a Valentine’s Day party at a classmates house. An altercation involving the girls and a social outcast, Juliet Sykes, played by Elena Kampouris, ends in tragedy when Sykes reaches her breaking point, and jumps in front of Kingston’s car.
Without missing a beat, the next scene is déjà vu. Kingston wakes up to her alarm on February 13, yet again. This happens throughout the film, and each time Kingston changes her daily behaviors. Although it was interesting to see how Kingston’s behaviors varied from day to day, the plot quickly turned stale and left me feeling tired by the end of the film.
“Before I Fall” does an excellent job illustrating the realities behind high school, including partying, sex, bullying and lying. The director, Ry Russo-Young, does an exceptional job at understanding the hardships that high schoolers go through in this day in age.
The film explores the realities behind second chances and makes its audience consider how they want to be remembered. Nonetheless, the movie was dull and unexciting due to the repetitiveness of each scene.
The film’s setting contains many parallels to life in Marin County, where the characters live in pricey homes with spectacular mountain views. Scenes containing underage drinking and bullying are all too familiar for students at Redwood. Although this movie was monotonous, it proves to be crucial for high school students to see.
“Before I Fall” does an excellent job at showcasing the struggles teenagers face in high school, as well as warning the audience that life can change in a split second. However, the dreary cinematic style made for a tiresome experience.
