Before I Fall is a mystery drama movie directed by Ry Russo-Young which was released by Open Road Films on March 3, 2017. The movie tells a story of a teenager named Samantha “Sam” Kingston who has to live the same day over and over again after a tragic incident that happened on February 12th.
Sam must find out the mystery behind this time loop, and throughout the process, she tries to mend her mistakes and correct her wrongdoings. The movie is adapted from the 2010 novel written by Lauren Oliver.
Sinopsis
The movie starts with Sam waking up on a beautiful morning on February 12th. She is excited because it’s Cupid’s Day, a day celebrated by teenagers. She goes to school with her three best friends Lindsay, Ally, and Elody.
In class, they learn about Sisyphus, and unexpectedly a bouquet of roses arrives. Sam receives one from her boyfriend and another from an unknown admirer. Kent McFuller, Sam’s classmate, invites her to a party at his house that night. During lunch, they see Juliet Sykes passing by, and they mock her as usual.
Despite some hesitation, Sam and her friends decide to go to the party. To their surprise, Juliet is there too. She attacks Lindsay with her words, and in retaliation, another student pours beer on her. Feeling humiliated, Juliet runs away. Sam decides not to spend the night with Rob because he is too drunk. Instead, she goes home with her friends. On the way back, at exactly 12:39, they have an accident because they hit something.
Sam wakes up from her sleep, and it’s still February 12th. She thinks that the previous events were just a nightmare, but everything happens exactly the same way, as if it’s déjà vu. They attend the party again and have an accident at the same time. Sam wakes up again and realizes she is stuck in a time loop. She tries to make changes, but everything always ends up the same. She is unable to do anything in this situation.
Sam decides to do whatever she wants and wears gothic clothes, being tough on her three friends, until they eventually distance themselves from her. At Kent’s party, Sam has sex with Rob and then goes alone to Kent’s room. Kent manages to calm her down and lets her spend the night there. Sam wakes up on the same day again. This time, Sam decides to spend time with her family, plays with her younger sister, and has dinner with her parents. She also goes to Kent’s party and talks to him about their friendship when they were children.
Sam tries to chase Juliet into the woods to find out the truth about her. She discovers that Juliet was falsely accused by Lindsay, which led to her mental distress. Juliet runs towards the road and crashes into a car, which is driven by Lindsay, and Sam is usually with her. Sam wakes up again on the same day. What will Sam do this time to break the time loop and solve the mystery? Will she tell her friends about Lindsay’s slander against Juliet? Will she be able to stop Juliet from crashing into the car?
Conclusion
Before I Fall is a movie that explores a typical theme of time loop in a different approach. Sam’s journey to find out the mystery behind the time loop brings heartfelt twists into the plot. The movie presents a profound message of life lessons, teaching us how the smallest differences in our actions can create significant changes. Though the movie collected only $12 million, it’s worth watching for mystery and drama fans.
