Review: Before I Fall
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Perhaps the significant problem that lies within the first hour of Before I Fall is that the film is a real-life Mean Girls. There is no humour or satire to be found here.
The protagonists are vile, despicable people. So when they get in a car crash after verbally eviscerating a misfit girl at a party, I have, to be honest. I didn’t much care.
Perhaps, even, I at first found a sheer glee in the supposedly sad Groundhog Day vibe, where teenage Sam (Zoey Deutch) is bound to relive this car crash day after day.
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But by the end of the film, Before I Fall had managed to do the impossible. This screenplay, credit to adaptation writer Maria Maggenti, actually had me believing the 180 that our main character undergoes.
This hinges on the true-to-life portrayal of a high school follower — a mean girl by association, in our main character Sam. Zoey Deutch is a wonderful lead, as she transforms, she changes our opinion of her.
As for the other three girls? You may hate them less, but in the end, they aren’t particularly well-drawn out. Instead, like the film does, focus on the misfits in the latter half.
Focus on the underdogs: Because that’s what Sam herself becomes.
This is an affecting drama — though not always effective. But it’s a serviceable effort nonetheless, and Zoey Deutch’s transformation in 100 minutes is well worth the price of admission.
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