What adds to this spectacular movie is the connection between Nyles and Sarah. It is not just your basic love story. Nyles has become comfortable in the Time Loop and feels safe. It is touched on briefly, but Nyles’ life outside of this loop wasn’t very exciting. Sarah is the first new thing he has seen and felt in a very long time, and he must decide between repetitive comfortability. Or something new that can be the best thing that has happened to him. It’s a choice that visibly tears Nyles apart, and it really comes through thanks to Andy’s superb acting. The character seems to give Andy room to experiment with emotions or feelings that he hasn’t been able to work with before, and to me, this film really cements him as one of the stars of Hollywood.
While this is a stellar performance for Andy, Cristin, to me, is the standout star of this film. It really shows she can hold her own as the main star on the big screen and kill it. Before this film, I had not seen Cristin in anything besides How I Met Your Mother and briefly in Wolf Of Wall Street. After finishing this movie, the question is, why isn’t Hollywood casting Cristin more for the big screen? The film really relies on her acting prowess to get across the hardship that comes with waking up again and again after the worst night of her life, and she delivers it with flying colours. It is a big ask for your lead actress to portray a drunken mess having a mid-life crisis and have her evolve into someone studying quantum physics to escape the Time Loop because she finally wants more from life thanks to her connection with Nyles.
Achieving all of this within a ninety-minute run time is an incredible feat!
Overall the movie does a perfect job of balancing comedy and storytelling, so no joke or phrase feels like it doesn’t belong. Director Max Barbakow and Cinematographer Quyen Tran did an excellent job composing the movie with stunning Palm Springs Desert shots. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie and suggest everyone should watch it, as it is a unique and original storyline that needs to be credited.
Palm Springs is currently streaming on PrimeVideo. |