There is an entire singularity of irony surrounding today’s
movie. When Groundhog Day first came out, it was well-regarded and seen as a
welcome reprieve from the norm. In the wake of Edge Of Tomorrow, everyone and
their two-bit production house decided to get in on the time loop narrative
trend, resulting in not only crushing that sense of reprieve that made all this
work in the first place, but at a frequency that will likely make most
moviegoers feel like they themselves are reliving the same day over and over
again. With how many of these films I’ve already covered, I am seriously
sceptical that there is any new ground to cover with this idea. I know that
“Hollywood has officially run out of ideas” is so much of a meme as to lose any
real meaning in saying it, but as I delved into not that long ago, it is
starting to become even more pronounced than before.
So, with the director of
the widely-derided Scouts' Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse and prolific producer
Jason Blum at the helm, is there going to be anything here that isn’t going to
make me repeat myself yet again? Well, this is the year of all things
surprising, so I’ll admit to being curious about how this will turn out.
The plot: It’s Tree (Jessica Rothe)’s birthday and, after
waking up from a bad hangover, she plans on spending it with her sorority
sisters. However, a mysterious masked figure plans to kill her. And succeeds,
leading to Tree waking up once again at the start of the day. She is stuck in a
time loop connected to her birthday, and if she ever plans on seeing tomorrow,
she has to find and stop the killer.
For a cast comprised mainly of actors with no prior acting
credits, and most certainly none in a film this high-profile, I’ll admit that
I’m genuinely impressed by the performances here. Rothe is fantastic as our
lead, hitting both the initial hatefulness and a truly disarming take on
self-introspection better than quite a few leads in these kinds of films.
Broussard works nicely as the romantic lead, along with the various
incarnations of that role through the different timelines. Matthews has no
prior acting credits but the way she channels supreme sorority bitch is
annoying but as far as the character is supposed to be. It’s abrasive, but it
doesn’t end crossing the line into irrevocably unwatchable; again, given the
other films in this sub-genre, I’ve seen far worse. Charles Aitken as
the lecherous teacher fills his boots nicely, Rob Mello as the resident psycho
is very effective and Jason Bayle as the father only gets one scene but he does
exceptionally as the linchpin for the film’s most dramatic moment.
Well, I can already see one thing to set this apart from the
pack: It’s a slasher movie in the purest sense of the term. Hospital escapee
killer wearing a mask, blonde female protagonist, primary use of knives; it’s not just the plot gimmick that is familiar here. Now, the slasher
film as it exists today is barely recognizable as the initial product. It’s
been used so often, both in the main house and the grind house over the last
several decades, that it pretty much needs
some form of reinvention to be palatable anymore. Look at Hush for a more
recent success story in that regard. Here, between the main conceit and the
style in which it is executed, this might sound strange to say but it seems
that director Christopher B. Landon’s genre-savviness is showing itself once
again.
I say this because, in spite of most of the usual conventions tied into
time loop and slasher films on display, this film does quite a bit to mess with
audience expectations. And not even preconceived expectations either; it
actively presents a story thread, carries it out to its logical conclusion, and
then switches it all up to introduce something else. Imagine if Clue had all
three of its endings be canon and you have some idea of how this film is
structured, especially during the final reel. This is why I haven’t yet used a spoiler tag; because even if you
know what is going to happen next, the film has other ideas. Considering how
well each initial story thread turns out, the intent of throwing the audience
off is more palatable because, no matter what turns up next, it hits the mark
more times than not.
This is helped by how the time loop gimmick itself is handled,
again going in with the idea that the audience has seen this type of film
before. It goes through the usual character arc of the lead learning more about
themselves and their surroundings through repetition, along with the increasing
levels of knowledge about the main plot with each repeat, but it adds a new
spin to the proceedings. Along with the usual memory retention to make the act
of watching the same events over and over have some sense of progression, it
also involves retention of physical injuries from the other timelines. Since
they all end in death, that could raise a couple plot holes, but it also adds
some real tension to the proceedings.
Even though it carries that same sense of
liberation and making the most out of a given day that most of these films
have, the knowledge that damage is still being done means that this could still
end rather badly. Rather than just being able to be in the time loop
indefinitely, the situation has to be
dealt with and quickly. Have to admit, that’s a new one, and it gives a
definite shot in the arm to the narrative that makes the proceedings a lot more
suspenseful.
And the good stuff doesn’t even stop there; there’s also the
main reason why this is all
happening. Now, admittedly, barely any of these films end up giving a
conclusive reason why the time loop exists and this is no exception. However,
that’s just a matter of the plot in itself; the subtext, on the other hand,
continues that sense of taking familiar elements and giving a fresh take on
them. As it goes through the usual progression of Tree learning to be a nicer
person with each repeat, it also emphasises the circumstances of the day: It’s
Tree’s birthday and she is intent to distract herself from something. The
initial joke of waking up in a stranger’s bedroom being a recurring problem
ends up giving way to a simmering hesitance concerning Tree’s parents that
leads to… well, like I said before, the dramatic height of the film and it is
extremely effective.
It ends up taking the general conceit of living each day
to their fullest that is stapled to this concept and pushing it to the point
where it shows both the importance of the day being repeated and a need to resolve that importance.
Again, avoiding outright spoilers, but when it sinks in what Tree is trying to
get away from, and how that very act is making her relive painful moments outside
of the time loop, it makes a very solid case for this film to exist alongside
all the others.
All in all, this film manages to shed new light on a very
familiar concept. Through very capable acting, a sharp script by X-Men writer
Scott Lobdell that acknowledges and subverts genre expectations, and an overall
approach that hits a lot of marks that other similar films end up missing, it
makes for a time loop film that is worth watching for those wanting something
new within that framework. Even if some of the plot twists get a bit too
convoluted and the genre-savviness results in a few groan-worthy moments like
out-and-out namechecking Groundhog Day near the end, it’s still a lot more fun
that one would expect from a story this overused.
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