ORION PICTURES (2018)
Director: Michael Sucsy
Starring: Angourice Rice, Justice Smith, Debbie Ryan, Maria Bello
Every day seems a little longer, every way, love's a little stronger...
Not quite a Buddy Holly biopic (which would be very cool, but the stage show is a good alternative), Every Day is a YA movie that’s part romance, part drama, part fantasy, all teenage and follows Rhiannon (Rice), a sixteen-year-old who has fallen for somebody – a spirit, a soul - who inhabits a different body every day. Sounds pretty sci-fi when it’s put like that, actually, but it definitely isn’t!
The solid young cast help propel the admittedly thin storyline into something curious and watchable, whilst never really feeling vital or overly interesting. Up-and-coming Aussie Angourie Rice leads the movie with a spring in her step and a good confidence, whilst the young men in her cinematic life are also solid enough for the material. The performances really sum up the movie as a whole – they’re just…professional. Everything occurs as it should, everybody does their part and then goes home for the evening, which certainly makes for a good production schedule and allows for an inoffensive, decent movie. However, shock horror, the movie nearly received a 15 rating in the UK, but cut footage allowed for a 12A rating.
Had Michael Sucsy spent more time delving into the wandering spirit that envelops a new human daily, then that would potentially have added a more interesting spin to events and, possibly, added some emotional weight that the movie really aimed for but never really achieved. There are plenty of intriguing questions asked that never feel fully resolved and, as it is, we are just asked to accept that someone would fall in love with a mystical force (not The Force) whatever the case on that day which is…fine…I guess.
In full YA style, the messages in Every Day are pure and optimistic – and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. The need to accept people for who they are plays heavily into the narrative, along with always remember to choose the good guy over the arrogant arsehat, be good to everyone and, also, sweet talk your parents into staying together extremely easily. There’s a sweetness and an earnestness to the movie that, whilst works, would have benefitted from a greater focus on the deeper themes and story threads that were thrown up.
April 21st 2018