MORE THAN MEETS THE I
Zoey Deutch hopes Before I Fall comes across as more than just another teen movie.
“When I hear somebody say it’s Groundhog Day meets Mean Girls it ( indicates) to me that a hybrid is the closest version of it,” says Deutch, in Toronto promoting the film with director Ry Russo-Young.
“I think people want a quick summary, so I take it as a compliment.”
Before I Fall is far from a comedy, however. In the movie, based on the Lauren Oliver young adult novel, Deutch plays Samantha ‘ Sam’ Kingston who leads a charmed high school life. Sam’s part of the cool crowd, has a cute boyfriend and joins in when her friends let others know where they stand in a Mean Girls kind of way.
All that comes to an end when Sam’s forced to relive the last day of her life for a week. The situation compels her to re-assess the present and future like the Groundhog Day timeloop device.
“This was an exciting challenge but definitely daunting,” Deutch says of the Sam portrayal. “And I felt very grateful when I met Ry and realized we were on the same page, and that we had the same process in terms of work ethic and artistic opinions.”
In other words, Deutch was the chosen one for the part. The 22-year-old daughter of Back to the Future actress Lea Thompson and Hollywood director Howard Deutch earned the status.
She established herself with roles in Everybody Wants Some, Dirty Grandpa and Vampire Academy.
The Before I Fall bonus was that Deutch and Russo-Young connected right away. Certainly, their rapport would be key on set.
The film shoot was a quick month in and around Vancouver between November and December of 2015, so time constraints were always a concern.
“And it’s not an easy part,” says Russo- Young. “Sam is changing throughout the course of the film, and Zoey had to make the transition in those days very quickly.”
Mostly, the actress trusted her director to monitor the exercise during the long days and nights of filming.
“We had to make sure the emotional arcs were clear on each day,” says Deutch. “Keeping the audience engaged was the main concern, and Ry did it beautifully.”
Sundance Film Festival audiences seem to agree. The movie had its premiere there in January to a positive response from filmgoers and critics.
The reaction was a relief to Deutch and Russo-Young who pushed the boundaries of the teen genre into a more demanding dramatic territory.
“We wanted to dignify the teenage experience,” the filmmaker says. “Many teen movies seem to be brightly coloured and have a pop sensibility, but being a teenager can be a dark and anxious time.”
Still, there is an undeniable constructive Before I Fall resolution.
“The darkness and the angst become a celebration of life. That’s something I ’m very pleased with,” Deutch says. “I didn’t want this movie to be about how a teen learns to be nice but how she finds out that she needs to take responsibility for her actions.”
So, Before I Fall is also a cautionary tale.
“To me the great message is that Sam learns to be a leader not a follower,” says the actress.
‘MANY TEEN MOVIES SEEM TO BE BRIGHTLY COLOURED … BUT BEING A TEENAGER CAN BE A DARK AND ANXIOUS TIME.’ — RY RUSSO-YOUNG I DIDN’T WANT THIS MOVIE TO BE ABOUT HOW A TEEN LEARNS TO BE NICE