What if you lived the same day twice and had only one chance to do everything differently with your loved one? This is the premise of the film Before the Day Ends (If Ony, 2004) by filmmaker Gil Junger (the same director of "10 Things I Hate About You"). Anyone who is familiar with the terrain of romantic and dramatic comedies with unhappy endings, focused on supposed realism, but actually interested in the tears and insecurities of the spectators, knows that cancer or car accidents/run overs are usually some of the main bitter causes for the end of a sweet love story. In the case of traffic incidents, the suffering comes from mourning a seemingly inevitable natural cause, something that could have been circumvented had one or all of the parties involved been luckier or more cautious than the basics required. "If Only", released in 2004, focuses on this segment to make the audience purge before a young love story annihilated by the instabilities of what we call destiny.
"If Only" presents us, over 92 minutes, the during and the outcome of the love relationship between Samantha Andrews (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ian Wyndham (Paul Nichols). She is a sweet person, music teacher and student in the same field, about to graduate and earn her diploma after more than ten years of investment in the cello. In her dilettante moments, the young woman who owns a beautiful voice also composes. Romantic, seductive and affectionate, the girl is the opposite of her boyfriend, a handsome, successful, honest guy in the relationship, but who doesn't know exactly how to show Samantha her deepest feelings. It's the old cliché. While she is sensitive to feelings, her partner is a workaholic who will need "advance notice" to change his behavior.
Constantly framed from above by the direction of photography by Giles Nuttgens, the couple is shown in their first moments inside the apartment. They wake up together, they exchange caresses, Samantha is always careful and Ian is agitated and worried about his tight work schedule. Soon after that first moment, they go to their respective functions, on a day that works out badly for him and very well for her. The date ends with a dinner that ends in the cancellation of the relationship. On the way out, the young woman takes a taxi, always driven by the same character, played by Tom Wilkinson, here just "the driver", with no name defined in the technical sheet. He is a mysterious character, apparently the commander of the "love boat" in the narrative. Faced with the tearful scenario that involves conflicting feelings, Samantha follows and Ian observes from a distance, until he runs towards the taxi and is surprised by an accident that takes the life of his beloved.
Loaded with guilt for having been a reckless boyfriend, he goes home, turns things over and discovers that in the deceased's diary, there was a composition in progress, created in her honor. He sleeps clutching the contents and the next day, things seem to have turned out differently than he imagined. Screaming and jumping in fright, Ian leaps out of bed at the sight of his dear companion waking up at the same pace as he does. Dream? Nightmare? What happened? It is when the narrative begins the entire previous dramatic circuit, now from the perspective of someone who already knows everything that will happen and needs to avoid the disaster of his premonition. From the teapot that burns her for breakfast, to the cyclist who passes by and wets her with puddled water on the street, everything is repeated, on a different street, facing Ian. You don't need to be a great movie buff or reader, used to dramatic narratives and their pranks, to understand that the focus now is on the guy who believes he is a hero by promoting an unforgettable day for his beloved girl, but who is probably the person who will from that after the accident until the outcome, we will not know if it will happen or if it is just a distraction for the sake of the "surprise".
The film is very clichéd and caricatured in relation to other films of the romance genre: The good guy does not value the young lady; he cannot show her feelings and he loses the young lady. Little guy has a second chance. Good guy manages to show his feelings and show that he loves the young lady. And of course, we have a wise, omnipresent lord who shows the good guy the truth about love. The second chance is to repeat the day of the disaster, as the synopsis already indicates, in which the things that happened the first time are repeated, even with small changes in the way they will happen, but they are never avoided. Only Ian knows that the day is being repeated, even if it seems like a dream at first, and the mysterious taxi driver, who apparently knows the whole situation. The film cycles through these clichés all the time, which makes everything a bit predictable.
Accompanied by Adrian Johnston's soundtrack, the characters of "If Only" share their scenes with few supporting actors and some passages constantly focused on urban movements in London traffic, once again icy, grey, like so many dramatic films and romantics who decide to contemplate space as the seat of their narratives. There is a curious haze in the scene of Ian's first contact with the taxi driver, before he guides the young woman in the premonitory accident. He takes the private car to go to his beloved's graduation event. On the way, the two quickly talk about love, loss, dissatisfaction. Tom Wilkinson's character has a spiritual, mysterious, literary appearance. It seems something non-real within a real, palpable narrative framework. It is a positive point of the narrative that maintains a pale tone and without moments of visual exaltation, given the palettes of Joseph Bennett's production design, very clean and anticipatory of the lack of vivacity that will take the lives of those who stay to memorize this story in the Final.
It is curious to observe that, having the film as a line of thought, the damage caused by such accidents does not only affect the mourning of family members, partners and friends, but is a cause of morbidity that takes shape in the weakening of economic relations, because according to According to the WHO, most accidents worldwide occur with young people between 18 and 44 years of age, that is, a worrying range of economically active adults. This is not problematized by the narrative, just a media data that gains prominence when we watch the dramatic romance that also features two tracks by Jennifer Love Hewitt in her singing version, on the soundtrack. Furthermore, "If Only" was one of the rental champions at the time, from the moment it was on the release shelf until it was moved to the catalog shelf, where it was firmly and visibly established, always sought after and recommended. That someone was looking for an engaging love story, cliché, without major complexities. The film, by the talented filmmaker Gil Junger, makes us review the way we treat those we love, teaching us to value every little moment as if it were the last while there is still time.
"Samantha, I've loved you since I met you, but I didn't allow myself to truly feel that, I was always one step ahead, making decisions to get rid of fear, but today, from what I learned with you, each choice was different and my life has completely changed. I learned, that when you do that, you live entirely, and that it doesn't matter if you are 5 minutes or 50 years... Samantha, if it weren't for today, or for you, I would never know the love... So, thank you for being the woman who taught me how to love and be loved!"
"If Only" presents us, over 92 minutes, the during and the outcome of the love relationship between Samantha Andrews (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ian Wyndham (Paul Nichols). She is a sweet person, music teacher and student in the same field, about to graduate and earn her diploma after more than ten years of investment in the cello. In her dilettante moments, the young woman who owns a beautiful voice also composes. Romantic, seductive and affectionate, the girl is the opposite of her boyfriend, a handsome, successful, honest guy in the relationship, but who doesn't know exactly how to show Samantha her deepest feelings. It's the old cliché. While she is sensitive to feelings, her partner is a workaholic who will need "advance notice" to change his behavior.
Constantly framed from above by the direction of photography by Giles Nuttgens, the couple is shown in their first moments inside the apartment. They wake up together, they exchange caresses, Samantha is always careful and Ian is agitated and worried about his tight work schedule. Soon after that first moment, they go to their respective functions, on a day that works out badly for him and very well for her. The date ends with a dinner that ends in the cancellation of the relationship. On the way out, the young woman takes a taxi, always driven by the same character, played by Tom Wilkinson, here just "the driver", with no name defined in the technical sheet. He is a mysterious character, apparently the commander of the "love boat" in the narrative. Faced with the tearful scenario that involves conflicting feelings, Samantha follows and Ian observes from a distance, until he runs towards the taxi and is surprised by an accident that takes the life of his beloved.
Loaded with guilt for having been a reckless boyfriend, he goes home, turns things over and discovers that in the deceased's diary, there was a composition in progress, created in her honor. He sleeps clutching the contents and the next day, things seem to have turned out differently than he imagined. Screaming and jumping in fright, Ian leaps out of bed at the sight of his dear companion waking up at the same pace as he does. Dream? Nightmare? What happened? It is when the narrative begins the entire previous dramatic circuit, now from the perspective of someone who already knows everything that will happen and needs to avoid the disaster of his premonition. From the teapot that burns her for breakfast, to the cyclist who passes by and wets her with puddled water on the street, everything is repeated, on a different street, facing Ian. You don't need to be a great movie buff or reader, used to dramatic narratives and their pranks, to understand that the focus now is on the guy who believes he is a hero by promoting an unforgettable day for his beloved girl, but who is probably the person who will from that after the accident until the outcome, we will not know if it will happen or if it is just a distraction for the sake of the "surprise".
The film is very clichéd and caricatured in relation to other films of the romance genre: The good guy does not value the young lady; he cannot show her feelings and he loses the young lady. Little guy has a second chance. Good guy manages to show his feelings and show that he loves the young lady. And of course, we have a wise, omnipresent lord who shows the good guy the truth about love. The second chance is to repeat the day of the disaster, as the synopsis already indicates, in which the things that happened the first time are repeated, even with small changes in the way they will happen, but they are never avoided. Only Ian knows that the day is being repeated, even if it seems like a dream at first, and the mysterious taxi driver, who apparently knows the whole situation. The film cycles through these clichés all the time, which makes everything a bit predictable.
Accompanied by Adrian Johnston's soundtrack, the characters of "If Only" share their scenes with few supporting actors and some passages constantly focused on urban movements in London traffic, once again icy, grey, like so many dramatic films and romantics who decide to contemplate space as the seat of their narratives. There is a curious haze in the scene of Ian's first contact with the taxi driver, before he guides the young woman in the premonitory accident. He takes the private car to go to his beloved's graduation event. On the way, the two quickly talk about love, loss, dissatisfaction. Tom Wilkinson's character has a spiritual, mysterious, literary appearance. It seems something non-real within a real, palpable narrative framework. It is a positive point of the narrative that maintains a pale tone and without moments of visual exaltation, given the palettes of Joseph Bennett's production design, very clean and anticipatory of the lack of vivacity that will take the lives of those who stay to memorize this story in the Final.
It is curious to observe that, having the film as a line of thought, the damage caused by such accidents does not only affect the mourning of family members, partners and friends, but is a cause of morbidity that takes shape in the weakening of economic relations, because according to According to the WHO, most accidents worldwide occur with young people between 18 and 44 years of age, that is, a worrying range of economically active adults. This is not problematized by the narrative, just a media data that gains prominence when we watch the dramatic romance that also features two tracks by Jennifer Love Hewitt in her singing version, on the soundtrack. Furthermore, "If Only" was one of the rental champions at the time, from the moment it was on the release shelf until it was moved to the catalog shelf, where it was firmly and visibly established, always sought after and recommended. That someone was looking for an engaging love story, cliché, without major complexities. The film, by the talented filmmaker Gil Junger, makes us review the way we treat those we love, teaching us to value every little moment as if it were the last while there is still time.
"Samantha, I've loved you since I met you, but I didn't allow myself to truly feel that, I was always one step ahead, making decisions to get rid of fear, but today, from what I learned with you, each choice was different and my life has completely changed. I learned, that when you do that, you live entirely, and that it doesn't matter if you are 5 minutes or 50 years... Samantha, if it weren't for today, or for you, I would never know the love... So, thank you for being the woman who taught me how to love and be loved!"