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EVERY TIME I DIE
Director: Robi Michael Cast: Drew Fonteiro, Marc Menchaca, Melissa Macedo, Michelle Macedo, Tyler White, Paul Megna MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:38 Release Date: 8/9/19 (limited); 8/16/19 (wider) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | August 15, 2019 The most straightforward way to put it is that Every Time I Die lives up to both the evocative nature and the weirdness of its title. This debut feature from co-writer/director Robi Michael examines memory and guilt, amidst a truly strange plot in which, eventually, a man's consciousness passes between bodies. Here's the real hook, though: The man, as he travels between the bodies of his friends, has to convince them that someone among their group murdered him. That's the plot, which gradually reveals itself after a lengthy passage examining how Sam (Drew Fonteiro), still reeling from the traumatic guilt of believing he caused his younger sister's death when he was 8 years old, has trouble with remembering things. He knows he's having an affair with the married Mia (Melissa Macedo) and that he loves her, despite her having second thoughts about the relationship. He knows he's a paramedic, working with his friend Jay (Marc Menchaca), who's married to Mia's twin sister Poppy (Michelle Macdeo, who is the twin sister of the actress playing her character's twin). Sam, though, keeps having blackouts, in which he loses stretches of time and memory. Those moments are filled with haunting memories of the past or dreams of his fears. That's when he ends up at Jay's house by the lake, to celebrate his work partner's birthday, even though Mia said Sam had promised not to go. Her husband Tyler (Tyler White) is about to return from military service overseas, but by the time he figures that out, Sam is being chased down a dirt road by the husband. There are two, very different stories being told here. One is a thriller, in which Sam's body-swapping consciousness tries to warn his friends (well, apart from the one whose body he's currently inhabiting) about Tyler, and the other is a melancholy study of Sam's guilt-ridden psyche. Michael and co-writer Gal Katzir balance these two threads quite well, especially considering how disparate they are in terms of narrative and tone. Michael shows an adept hand in both modes, too. The inherent wackiness of the main plot is played with a straight face, which might only work because the tragic story of Sam's past is portrayed with such sincerity in such an enigmatic fashion. Weird but with a gloomy undercurrent to keep it level, Every Time I Die is a unique little ride. Copyright © 2019 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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