Every Day. (12A.)
Directed by Michael Sucsy.
Starring Angourie Rice, Justice Smith, Owen Teague, Debby Ryan, Michael Cram and Maria Bello. 95 mins.
In this teen romance, adapted from a YA novel, one half of the romantic couple is a being that wakes up in a different teenage body every day – black or white, male or female, healthy or unhealthy, cheerful or depressed. But never poor or without a smartphone: there are limits. One day it falls in love with Rhiannon (Rice) and tries to pursue her through its every changing faces.
The film itself passes through many different identities – Groundhog Day/ Being John Malkovich/ Your Name/ all with a Donnie Darko style soundtrack – but the one it never embodies is Twilight. This is bad for the producers because you suspect that this will not spend much more than a few days in any one cinema, but lucky for anyone who gets to see it because it's quietly charming. It can be a bit sappy and New Age in places, but it is at least genuinely interested in exploring its premise and doesn't just see it as gimmick to hook in the kids. Some will be maddened by its lack of dramatic urgency, but isn't it a pleasant change to have a film that isn't trying to force its attentions upon you?
Directed by Michael Sucsy.
Starring Angourie Rice, Justice Smith, Owen Teague, Debby Ryan, Michael Cram and Maria Bello. 95 mins.
In this teen romance, adapted from a YA novel, one half of the romantic couple is a being that wakes up in a different teenage body every day – black or white, male or female, healthy or unhealthy, cheerful or depressed. But never poor or without a smartphone: there are limits. One day it falls in love with Rhiannon (Rice) and tries to pursue her through its every changing faces.
The film itself passes through many different identities – Groundhog Day/ Being John Malkovich/ Your Name/ all with a Donnie Darko style soundtrack – but the one it never embodies is Twilight. This is bad for the producers because you suspect that this will not spend much more than a few days in any one cinema, but lucky for anyone who gets to see it because it's quietly charming. It can be a bit sappy and New Age in places, but it is at least genuinely interested in exploring its premise and doesn't just see it as gimmick to hook in the kids. Some will be maddened by its lack of dramatic urgency, but isn't it a pleasant change to have a film that isn't trying to force its attentions upon you?
