Before I Fall
Open Road Films (II) | Release Date: March 3, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
8
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Village VoiceApril WolfeFeb 28, 2017
Russo-Young gives this teen parable the thriller treatment to ward off any cheese, and watching Deutch learn her lesson with that expressive face of hers is a singular, moving experience. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinJan 23, 2017
This neatly written Heathers-meets-Groundhog Day high-concept package delivers both technical polish and a toothsome yet likeable cast. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshMar 9, 2017
As Sam, Deutch is supported by the likes of Halston Sage as uber mean girl Lindsay, using her armor as a weapon, Logan Miller as longtime pal Kent, and Medalion Rahimi and Cynthy Wu as the rest of her clique. But this is Deutch's film. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaMar 3, 2017
I applaud whoever thought of casting Jennifer Beals as Sam’s mother, the lone grown-up who has any real impact. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayMar 2, 2017
This is a movie squarely directed at adolescents in all their untamed desire, outsize emotion and near-bottomless self-obsession. The filmmakers have crafted a canny delivery system for their life lessons, by way of a movie that balances escapism, candor and ethics with admirable aplomb. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangMar 2, 2017
It’s without a shred of guilt that I say there is honest pleasure to be found in Before I Fall, which takes an unapologetically silly conceit and wrings from it a surprisingly nimble and affecting survey of contemporary teenage attitudes and anxieties. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 2, 2017
The film is unexpectedly compelling, even if you’re not a teenage girl, though being one certainly wouldn’t hurt. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaFeb 28, 2017
The film mostly retains its humanity, largely thanks to Deutch’s performance and Russo-Young’s insistence on keeping her at the forefront of almost every shot. Read full review
70
Screen DailyAnthony KaufmanJan 23, 2017
Deutch, who appeared in Beautiful Creatures as well as Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some, delivers a sympathetic lead performance, carrying the film with equal doses of sweetness and grace, strength and vulnerability. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 23, 2017
While the story easily could have fallen into a broken-record rut, “Nobody Walks” director Russo-Young finds ways of making the day in question feel fresh each time Sam lives it, while giving the overall presentation a look, feel, and voice that’s distinct from the vast swatch of YA movies. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyDevan CogganMar 2, 2017
A teen melodrama that’s steeped in clichés but still has an unexpectedly poignant message. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMar 1, 2017
Before I Fall puts all its excellent elements in service to a story that’s well-told and has a valuable lesson. Read full review
67
IndieWireDavid EhrlichFeb 27, 2017
Russo-Young insists upon Before I Fall maintaining the courage of its convictions, and she gets her way — the movie takes a while to get off the ground, but when it lands, it lands hard. Read full review
67
The Film StageDan MeccaJan 26, 2017
The beats are familiar, recalling many a teen movie past, but the themes resonate for today’s youth and they resonate clearly. Read full review
67
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 23, 2017
Before I Fall is a movie that will make its core audience of teenage girls melt and is a nice diversion for everyone else. It will make Hollywood studios take Russo-Young more seriously and be a calling card for Deutch, Sage and Miller. That’s not so bad, is it? Read full review
65
TheWrapRobert AbeleMar 2, 2017
Though it’s decidedly a Hollywood product in its polished, lockstep approach toward teen mindsets — an admittedly surprising swerve toward the mainstream for indie-marinated Russo-Young — the film’s sensitivities are honest enough to make it a cut above many youth dramas. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 2, 2017
It would be easy to write off Before I Fall as the Groundhog Day of teen weepies – but something raw keeps breaking through the formula to pull us in. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoMar 2, 2017
It says something about Deutch’s appeal that she does manage to pull the story from the vexing hole it digs itself into. She takes us on an absorbing journey through the various stages of Sam’s time-stalled predicament. Read full review
63
USA TodayBrian TruittMar 2, 2017
Director Ry Russo-Young’s drama does manage to smartly dig into the real-world consequences of bullying and arrive at a provocative conclusion by having its main character live her final day on Earth over and over until she gets it right. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 27, 2017
It’s not a great movie, a deep film or a transcendent experience, the way “Groundhog Day” is. But Before I Fall is an admirable knockoff, a “teachable moments” movie about that first time we take stock, realize the what and who we should treasure, and let them know it. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsAriel ScottiMar 3, 2017
A collision of sci-fi, drama and horror, Before I Fall earns points for ambition. Read full review
50
MTV NewsAmy NicholsonMar 9, 2017
The film doesn't trust Deutch to complete the full redemption arc from sinner to saint, which is, you know, the point of the script. She's a marshmallow from minute one, and that's a shame because Deutch is capable of being a real pistol. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 6, 2017
To be fair, there are occasional moments that succeed dramatically. These are typically the quieter, less histrionic ones. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 2, 2017
To those who, like me, are ever so slightly beyond the young-adult cohort, it may seem silly and derivative but sometimes affecting as well, a high-school pageant version of “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMichael OrdonaMar 2, 2017
If one can forgive its derivativeness and predictability, Before I Fall is well-acted and directed, and its message of acceptance and responsibility reads as heartfelt. Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldMar 2, 2017
Even Deutch’s charming radiance (she never entirely sells Sam’s nasty side) can’t quite get us through the slog of this plot. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Mar 1, 2017
What really stinks about Before I Fall is that it zaps all the fun and humor out of its time-bending premise, leaving behind a lot of moping to randomly selected pop cues. Read full review
40
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMar 1, 2017
Before I Fall is tactful rather than maudlin, tasteful rather than lurid, soothing rather than creepy. None of that is good news. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)David BerryMar 2, 2017
Before I Fall takes the premise of Harold Ramis’s rom-com and drains it of soul, soft touches and humorous pathos, plodding through its message of being a better person with all the sprightly grace of a sedated subterranean rodent being dragged out of a pretend hibernation den. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaFeb 26, 2017
All the film has to show for its efforts are tired platitudes about the value of altruism and living each day as it if were the last. Read full review
30
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoMar 2, 2017
Before I Fall makes a simple plot into this convoluted, aggravating mess of emotional turmoil that lacks a shocking amount of direction. Read full review
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