Filmology Rating: 2.75 out of 4

Samantha Kingston (Zoey Deutch) is inexplicably stuck reliving the same day over and over again. As the days pass, she slowly starts to untangle the mystery surrounding her death and discovers the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

“Before I Fall” is the high school/teen drama version of Bill Murray’s 1993 “Groundhog Day”. Usually any teen flick remake of a classic film is doomed to be a failure. They usually take what was once a good idea and try and make i...t work for their film, more often than not it doesn’t work. “Before I Fall” thankfully doesn’t fall into that same trap. Now this movie doesn’t redefine the “groundhog day” effect and make it better but it does offer a slightly different twist for a generation where a lot of people haven’t seen Bill Murray’s masterpiece.

With both films, “Groundhog Day” and “Before I Fall”, there has both been a solid lead performance. One of the really cool things that the groundhog effect gives to a film is that it allows the character to go through an interesting transformation; a transformation that really takes a mental toll on the individual. Zoey Deutch in this film was really fantastic. She completely acted like a developing teenager, nailed the mental transformation of going insane to realizing what's really important, and she also added a lot of heart to the film. Zoey really did a wonderful job and really is a rising star after this, “Everybody Wants Some”, and “Why Him”.

Let’s go into that heart and emotion. That really is what this movie is about and any movie that has to do with groundhog effect. Why is this happening to me? What did I do or didn’t do? What can I do differently? What are the real important things in life that truly matter? These are all questions this movie tried to ask. This is actually a really important movie for kids and teenagers to watch in middle and in high school. It really brings a sense of perspective. Are my actions and words saying having a positive or negative effect on the ones around me? These are great questions for everyone to keep in mind.

Adding to these great themes, great acting by the lead (and good acting from its supporting cast), there was also a surprising amount of great cinematic moments of great camera work, direction, and visual stimulus. Director Ry Russo-Young really did a great job in making sure this movie didn’t fall into the same pitfalls as the other teen flick movies have. I do have some little critics however but I really can’t explain because it would be a spoiler. Long story short, there was an emotional moment that was really missed and overlooked that really should’ve happened to bring the themes full circle and really hit home.

“Before I Fall” was surprisingly good! I had a really great time with it and I'm looking forward to what Zoey Deutch will do next.

Rating: See It

-Nick