Before I Fall (film)

Before I Fall
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ry Russo-Young
Produced by
Written by Maria Maggenti
Based on Before I Fall
by Lauren Oliver
Starring
Music by Adam Taylor
Cinematography Michael Fimognari
Edited by Joe Landauer
Production
company
Distributed by Open Road Films
Release date
  • January 21, 2017 (2017-01-21) (Sundance)
  • March 3, 2017 (2017-03-03) (United States)
Running time
 99 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $5 million[2]
Box office $17.1 million[3]

Before I Fall is a 2017 American teen drama film directed by Ry Russo-Young and written by Maria Maggenti, based on the 2010 novel of same name by Lauren Oliver. The film stars Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley, Jennifer Beals, Diego Boneta and Elena Kampouris.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017, and was theatrically released on March 3, 2017, by Open Road Films. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $17 million worldwide against its $5 million budget. According to IndieWire, it was one of the highest grossing independent films of 2017.[4]

Plot

Samantha Kingston wakes on February 12, known as Cupid's Day. She is picked up by her friends, Lindsay, Ally and Elody, who joke with her about losing her virginity to her boyfriend Rob that night. During class, when her teacher is lecturing on Sisyphus, Sam is handed a rose, gifted from her boyfriend with a nonchalant note. She is also given a pale colored rose with a note suggesting it is from another boy named Kent. He later invites her to his party. During lunch the girls make fun of Juliet, an outsider girl that they view as a "psycho". At the party, Juliet shows up, seemingly uninvited. Lindsay confronts her and the two fight, with Juliet leaving in tears. As they are driving back from the party, the car hits something and crashes, apparently killing Sam.

Sam wakes in her room on Cupid's Day again. Thinking the previous day was just a nightmare, Sam continues on with her day but finds that the same events occur, and they again crash after leaving the party. Sam wakes up on the same day again. Realizing she is in a time-loop, she convinces the group to have a sleepover instead of going to the party, trying to avoid the crash. They avoid the crash, but find out later in the night that Juliet has killed herself. Despite avoiding the crash, Sam wakes up on the same day again. Camera effects are used to indicate that Sam has continuously experienced the same day many times and is seemingly unable to break the loop, so one morning she decides to angrily react to everyone around her, insulting her friends and family. At the party, she has sex with Rob, but appears to not enjoy the experience. She runs into Kent's room and breaks down in tears. Kent finds and comforts her, letting her stay in his room. She asks him why he's so nice to her and he says it's because she was the first one to make him laugh after his father died in third grade.

In the next iteration, she skips school and spends time with her sister. At the party, Sam and Kent share a kiss. She hears the fight between Lindsay and Juliet from the hall and chases after her through the woods. Sam tries to stop Juliet, but she jumps in front of Lindsay's car and kills herself, horrifying Sam and making her realize that Juliet was what the car hit on the original day. Sam wakes up again with a sense of calm and understanding, knowing what she must do to end the loop. She resolves to be kind and considerate as she goes about her day. She sends roses to both Juliet and Kent. She also breaks up with Rob and tells Kent that she has a "secret" for him. At the party, she kisses Kent and tells him she loves him. She again intervenes to save Juliet, but when Juliet attempts to run into traffic, Sam pushes her out of the way at the last second and is killed by a truck. A montage of her good memories are shown. Juliet sobs to Sam's lifeless body that she saved her, to which Sam's voice replies, "No, you saved me."

Cast

Production

On July 15, 2010, Fox 2000 Pictures bought the feature film rights to the teen novel Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver's debut, which was published that year.[5][6] Maria Maggenti was hired to adapt the novel into a screenplay, while Jonathan Shestack was set to produce and Ginny Pennekamp to co-produce. The film is about a high school student who re-lives the same day until she gets everything in her life right.[5] In 2011, the script was listed among the Black List of best unproduced screenplays.[7] Ry Russo-Young was attached as the film's director.[8] On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Zoey Deutch had been cast in the film's lead role, Samantha Kingston.[8] Brian Robbins and Matthew Kaplan produced the film through their Awesomeness Films, along with Shestack, with production starting in late October 2015.[8] On October 27, 2015, more cast was announced, consisting of Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley, Diego Boneta, and Elena Kampouris.[9] Good Universe handled the film's international sales at the American Film Market.[9] On November 3, 2015, Jennifer Beals joined the film's cast, to play Samantha's mother.[10] On November 20, 2015, Liv Hewson was cast in the film to play Anna Cartullo.[11] Adam Taylor composed the film's score.[12]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on November 16, 2015, in Squamish, British Columbia, where they filmed at Quest University.[6][13][14] Shooting also took place in and around Vancouver.[15] Filming ended on December 19, 2015.[16]

Release

In May 2016, Open Road Films acquired U.S distribution rights to the film.[17] Before I Fall had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017.[18] The film was originally scheduled to be released on April 7, 2017, but was moved up to March 3.[19][20] It also screened in Italy at Giffoni Film Festival on July 18, 2017.[21]

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 30, 2017 in the United States by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Reception

Box office

Before I Fall grossed $12.2 million in the United States and Canada and $3.5 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $16.1 million, against a production budget of $5 million.[3]

In the United States and Canada, Before I Fall opened alongside The Shack and Logan, and was projected to gross around $4 million in its opening weekend.[22] It ended up opening to $4.9 million, which Deadline Hollywood noted, while on par with projections, was a disappointing figure. While it only carried a $5 million production cost, the estimated amount spent on advertising the film was around $20 million, meaning an opening of $13 million would have been needed to be deemed a success.[23] In its second weekend the film grossed $3.1 million, dropping just 34% and again finishing 6th at the box office.[24]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 113 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Before I Fall's familiar ingredients are enlivened by a fresh YA perspective and a strong performance from emerging star Zoey Deutch."[25] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 58 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[26] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave a 72% overall positive score.[23]

Abbey Bender of Uproxx gave the film a generally positive review and praised Ry Russo-Young's direction, noting: "Before I Fall ends disappointingly with a moment of sacrifice that feels too heavy handed. Along the way, though, there are plenty of scenes of compellingly lush nature and teenage girlhood."[27] AllMovie gave it 2.5 stars out of 5,[28] while Susan Wloszczyna of rogerebert.com gave it 3 out of 4.[29]

Awards and nominations

Film earned a nomination in 2017 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Drama category. Cast also earned nominations; Zoey Deutch in 2017 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Drama Actress category and Kian Lawley in Choice Movie: Drama Actor category for the movie. Kian won the award for Choice Movie: Drama Actor.[30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Printable Film Guide" (PDF). Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Box Office: 'Logan' Slicing and Dicing Toward Year's Biggest Debut", Variety, March 2, 2017, retrieved March 3, 2017
  3. 1 2 "Before I Fall (2017)". The Numbers. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  4. ↑ "The 20 Highest Grossing Indies of 2017 (A Running List)". IndieWire. April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Fleming Jr, Mike (July 15, 2010). "Fox 2000 Sees Film Potential In Teen Novel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Before I Fall Filming Location in Squamish". What's Filming?. November 29, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ A. Fernandez, Jay (December 12, 2011). "Black List 2011: 'Star Wars' Satire and Zombies Among Top 10 Screenplays". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 Hipes, Patrick (September 15, 2015). "Zoey Deutch To Star In 'Before I Fall', Next Movie From Awesomeness Films". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Sneider, Jeff (October 27, 2015). "Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley Join Zoey Deutch in 'Before I Fall'". The Wrap. TheWrap. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  10. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (November 3, 2015). "Jennifer Beals Joins 'Before I Fall' Opposite Zoey Deutch – AFM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ A. Lincoln, Ross (November 20, 2015). "'Before I Fall' Adds Liv Hewson; Gabriella Wright Joins 'Security'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Adam Taylor Scoring Ry Russo-Young's 'Before I Fall'". FilmMusicReporter. November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  13. ↑ "On the Set for 11/20/15: Ricky Gervais Starts Shooting 'Life on the Road', Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer Wrap 'Gifted'". SSN Insider. November 20, 2015. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  14. ↑ "See a Photo From the Set of BEFORE I FALL – The Fandom". The Fandom. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  15. ↑ "DIGITAL: BEFORE I FALL Films in Vancouver/Squamish With Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Elena Kampouris, Logan Miller & YouTube Star Kian Lawley". yvrshoots.com. November 29, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  16. ↑ "On the Set for 1/1/16: George Lopez Starts 'Aloha Santa', Dave Bautista Wraps 'Bushwick', Catherine Zeta-Jones Finishes 'The Godmother'". SSN Insider. December 31, 2015. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  17. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (May 13, 2016). "Open Road Falls Hard For 'Before I Fall;' Commits To Wide Release For Awesomeness Pic As Good Universe Shops Intl: Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  18. ↑ Patten, Dominic (December 5, 2016). "Sundance 2017: Robert Redford, New Rashida Jones Netflix Series, 'Rebel In The Rye' & More On Premiere, Docu, Midnight & Kids Slates". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ McNary, Dave (July 26, 2016). "Zoey Deutch's 'Before I Fall' Gets April Release". Variety. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  20. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 25, 2016). "Jamie Foxx's 'Sleepless' Cruises To MLK Weekend; 'Before I Fall' Lands In March". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  21. ↑ ""BEFORE I FALL", THE PREMIERE ON 18 JULY AT GIFFONI FILM FESTIVAL WITH THE STAR ZOEY DEUTCH". Giffoni Film Festival. June 18, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  22. ↑ "'Logan' Looks To Roar $170M+ Around The World In First Weekend – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood.
  23. 1 2 "'Logan's $85.3M Debut Breaks Records For Wolverine Series & Rated R Fare; Beats 'Fifty Shades' & 'Passion Of The Christ'", Deadline Hollywood, retrieved March 5, 2017
  24. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (March 12, 2017). "'Kong' Beats His Chest On Saturday: Weekend Opening Now At $61M – Sunday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Before I Fall (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Before I Fall reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  27. ↑ "'Before I Fall' Reinvents 'Groundhog Day' As A Teen Drama". Uproxx. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Before I Fall - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Before I Fall Review". rogerebert.com. March 3, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  30. ↑ Ceron, Ella (June 19, 2017). "Teen Choice Awards 2017: See the First Wave of Nominations". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
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