Directed By: Trey Edward Shults
Starring: Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd), Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan, Riley Keough
Genre: Music/Thriller
Running Time: 106 Minutes
PLOT
A musician plagued by insomnia is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence.
REVIEW
From the trailers, I didn’t really know what to make of The Weeknd’s HURRY UP TOMORROW. The soundtrack, which was released months prior, was a fine album but maybe a bit too long. His HBO show, The Idol, didn’t exactly win me over enough to finish the damn series. Considering he’s one of the most streamed music artists out there and has accomplished more than most modern musicians have, I wondered why Abel Tesfaye would want to try his hand at acting when he doesn’t seem like that’s his bag. But then again, modern It girl Jenna Ortega and Oscar-nominated actor Barry Keoghan are helping him with this project, so there must be something to it, right?
With HURRY UP TOMORROW, I was expecting The Weeknd’s THE WALL or PURPLE RAIN - a sort of fictional autobiographical film about his life and career that would boost his musical artistry. Instead, we get like an hour of The Weeknd moping around and badly dealing with his addictions - music, drugs and especially women. Between performing for his fans and being enabled by his manager (Keoghan) who just feeds him drugs and boosts his ego to make sure he still has a job [and be Tesfaye’s “real” friend too, I guess - is he in love with Tesfaye? I don’t even know], The Weeknd is constantly on his phone texting or calling an ex-girlfriend who has left him. If The Weeknd was portrayed as a likable guy, this wouldn’t be an issue. But he’s whiny and lashes out when she doesn’t respond to him, especially while he’s high on cocaine. His ex dodged a bullet here.
During all this, we get Jenna Ortega’s character Anima, whose first impression is of her pouring gasoline in someone’s house and lighting it up into flames. She then evades cops, steals more gasoline and drives to see The Weeknd at a concert since she’s a huge fan. Obviously her toxicity shares in his, so a match made in heaven?
So with 45 minutes left, these two people finally meet and you feel relieved that the film is finally getting to its point. These two miserable souls will hash out their BS and find a way to move forward happier together. They connect and find solace in each other and it’s all nice and dandy.
Until it isn’t and the rest of the film becomes a ripoff of late-80s/early-90s thrillers like MISERY, FATAL ATTRACTION, THE CRUSH and so on. If it weren’t for the people involved, this would have played on a Saturday night on Lifetime with no one talking about it once Monday came along. Instead, this is just an embarrassing project for everyone involved.
The only real positives about HURRY UP TOMORROW are the direction/cinematography [Trey Edward Shults has made better films and Chayse Irvin thankfully makes this film pop visually] and Jenna Ortega’s performance as a troubled young woman, which is breath of fresh air over the usual emo characters she’s been playing the last few years. The music is obviously enjoyable as well, so that’s another plus.
Barry Keoghan is wasted here and Abel Tesfaye needs to stick with music and let others handle the acting and screenwriting for his ideas from now on.
HURRY UP TOMORROW drags and stumbles towards the finish line with unlikable characters and a narrative that would have played out better in a shorter film or music video. If it wasn’t for the striking visuals, the music and Jenna Ortega’s against-type performance, this would have been a complete waste of time. The Weeknd is not a good actor and maybe should consider behind-the-lens work for his next project instead. If I wasn’t an AMC A-List member, I would have been severely pissed off if I had spent over $20 on this movie. I have a feeling Razzie voters will consider this one “Timeless” for next year’s nominations…
SCORE
1 Howl Outta 4
