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Palm Springs follows the relationship between Nyles and Sarah (Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti), two strangers that meet at a wedding in the titular resort city only to find themselves stuck in a time-loop, endlessly repeating the same day. When the film starts, Nyles has been reliving this day for an undetermined time, but it is when Sarah accidentally gets "sucked in" that things go more or less awry.
The thing is that Nyles had already resigned to live and relive this day until whatever happens, a slave to his fate. Sarah, on the other hand, is reluctant at first to accept this, until eventually, she surrenders herself as well. The above is Nyles' advice to her. But the truth is that we don't have to be stuck in a time-loop to feel either the pressures or comforts of routine.
Early in the film, a friend of Nyles asks about his day to which he casually replies "Today, tomorrow, yesterday, it's all the same." To him, that bears a special meaning. His days are indeed "the same", but to everyone else *not* in a time-loop, days can feel like "the same". We engage in routine and go through the same processes day after day, even to our detriment. We "suffer existence", because we feel like we have no choice.
What Sarah brings to the equation is a desire to break free. She has her own reasons, ones that make this endless loop particularly unbearable for her, because it keeps reminding her of her "worst". But however painful our current "routine" is, it's not easy to step away from our "comfort zone", so we "learn how to suffer existence".
It takes real skill to take such a niche premise (being stuck in a time-loop) that has already been done so well previously (Groundhog Day and Source Code), and still find a way to do something that feels genuine and fresh. But that's what director Max Barbakow and writer Andy Siara have done with this. Their melancholic and profound approach to the premise strikes a perfect balance between heavy and light.
Samberg and Milioti seem also like a perfect fit, with the former perfectly embracing that carefree attitude that Nyles has in the first half, while Milioti does so much with her eyes and body language as she moves from chaotic desperation to deep regret, and everything in between. The cast is rounded out by the always excellent J.K. Simmons as yet another person that's accidentally sucked into the time-loop.
There are some small things, especially regarding some side characters that felt a bit forced, but other than that, I thought this was a very, very good romcom. One that manages to be earnest and sincere, while also being thought-provoking and profound, in how it illustrates the burden of routine, and that sometimes the best choice to get out of it is to blow things up and let the chips fall where they may.
Grade:
PALM SPRINGS
(2020, Barbakow)
A film with the word "Spring" in its title
(2020, Barbakow)
A film with the word "Spring" in its title
"We kind of have no choice but to live. So I think your best bet is just to learn how to suffer existence."
Palm Springs follows the relationship between Nyles and Sarah (Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti), two strangers that meet at a wedding in the titular resort city only to find themselves stuck in a time-loop, endlessly repeating the same day. When the film starts, Nyles has been reliving this day for an undetermined time, but it is when Sarah accidentally gets "sucked in" that things go more or less awry.
The thing is that Nyles had already resigned to live and relive this day until whatever happens, a slave to his fate. Sarah, on the other hand, is reluctant at first to accept this, until eventually, she surrenders herself as well. The above is Nyles' advice to her. But the truth is that we don't have to be stuck in a time-loop to feel either the pressures or comforts of routine.
Early in the film, a friend of Nyles asks about his day to which he casually replies "Today, tomorrow, yesterday, it's all the same." To him, that bears a special meaning. His days are indeed "the same", but to everyone else *not* in a time-loop, days can feel like "the same". We engage in routine and go through the same processes day after day, even to our detriment. We "suffer existence", because we feel like we have no choice.
What Sarah brings to the equation is a desire to break free. She has her own reasons, ones that make this endless loop particularly unbearable for her, because it keeps reminding her of her "worst". But however painful our current "routine" is, it's not easy to step away from our "comfort zone", so we "learn how to suffer existence".
It takes real skill to take such a niche premise (being stuck in a time-loop) that has already been done so well previously (Groundhog Day and Source Code), and still find a way to do something that feels genuine and fresh. But that's what director Max Barbakow and writer Andy Siara have done with this. Their melancholic and profound approach to the premise strikes a perfect balance between heavy and light.
Samberg and Milioti seem also like a perfect fit, with the former perfectly embracing that carefree attitude that Nyles has in the first half, while Milioti does so much with her eyes and body language as she moves from chaotic desperation to deep regret, and everything in between. The cast is rounded out by the always excellent J.K. Simmons as yet another person that's accidentally sucked into the time-loop.
There are some small things, especially regarding some side characters that felt a bit forced, but other than that, I thought this was a very, very good romcom. One that manages to be earnest and sincere, while also being thought-provoking and profound, in how it illustrates the burden of routine, and that sometimes the best choice to get out of it is to blow things up and let the chips fall where they may.
Grade: