What would you do if you find out that you have one day left to live? What would you have done to find out what is it needed to be done before you depart from this world? Before I Fall is the movie that will give you a glimpse at one person’s life who will have to decide what she should do in order to showcase who she really is in action and not just in words, even if that action is the last one she does.…
It’s February 12th; as Valentines Day approaches quickly, Samantha (Zoey Deutch) and her three friends, Lindsay (Halston Sage), Elody (Medalion Rahimi) and Ally (Cynthy Wu) are getting ready for the upcoming night party organized by her classmate, Kent. A seemingly fun nights turns into violent action when Juliet was viciously attacked by the attenders, where Samantha was one of them. Driving back home, Lindsay texts while she was behind the wheel and misses an object that was before her. As a result, all of them end up in a car accident where all four friends die. However, seconds later Samantha wakes up, thinking that it all was just a nightmare, until the strange feelings of déjà vu she starts experiencing.
When Samantha realizes that the outcome of the party night is unavoidable, she tries to find a way to escape the fatality that’s about to hit her. Whether she goes to school, or hang out with her best friends, or trying to fix her shattered relationship with her mother, every day when Samantha relives the same day all over again, she starts understanding that the end result will be the same, it’s just the matter of making it right. Having an opportunity to change her approach, Samantha realizes that it’s time to change not only herself, but people around her, to ensure no matter what will happen, they will remember her for who she was.
Before I Fall in terms of storyline does not come up with anything new. If you have seen the movie If Only, you will know what to expect from it. Even that, Ry Russo-Young’s movie still gives you an opportunity to re-examine Samantha’s one last day, re-think it, and along with her to figure out what else she needs to do to make it right. But even though you may know that, it’s Samantha who is left to relive the same day all over again to come to her own conclusion.
In the end, Before I Fall does exceed my expectation, so should yours as well. In terms of acting or the story development, the movie does what it aimed to, which is a good thing. It is also amazing to see how Samantha’s personality changes giving us a hope that we all can achieve the same result if we push harder. To conclude that, Before I Fall is worthwhile seeing and will be appreciated by a mature audience. Because at the end of the day, it has a good point and a lesson we all can learn from.. .and for that, we don’t need to fall at all….