“Maybe for you there’s a tomorrow. But for some of us, there’s only today,” explains Samantha (Zoey Deutch, “Why Him?”), the teen protagonist of “Before I Fall.” A new trailer has been released for the “Groundhog Day”-esque drama, set to premiere at Sundance on January 21. Directed by Ry Russo-Young and written by Maria Maggenti (“Monte Carlo”), “Before I Fall” sees Samantha stuck reliving a particular day of her life, and as the spot depicts, it’s one that involves a serious car accident.
“The only way to escape is to change,” Samantha’s teacher observes in the trailer. And it looks like Samantha will be forced to re-examine her choices and behavior — and to change them — if she’s going to escape the cycle.
While she seems to have a “perfect” life on the surface, including popular friends and a boyfriend, the film’s official synopsis hints that once she’s trapped repeating history, Samantha “begins to question just how perfect her life really was. As she begins to untangle the mystery of a life suddenly derailed, she must also unwind the secrets of the people closest to her, and discover the power of a single day to make a difference, not just in her own life, but in the lives of those around her — before she runs out of time for good.”
In a soon-to-be published interview with Women and Hollywood, Russo-Young shared that the themes of the story resonated with her on a personal level. “They reminded me of my friendships at that time of life and how all-encompassing they were,” she explained. “High school is a time in one’s life where we ask ourselves who we want to be in the most vivid manner, and I believe that these are questions that are important to carry with us through all stages of life.”
Russo-Young’s credits include “Nobody Walks,” “You Won’t Miss Me,” and “Orphans.”
“Before I Fall” hits theaters on March 3. Check out the trailer below.