Before I Fall
Release Date: March 3, 2017
Domestic Gross: $12,241,122
Worldwide Gross: $12,241,122
Audience rating: 6.4/10 (IMDb); 57% (Rotten Tomatoes); 58 (Metacritic)
Average rating for Zoey’s portrayal of Samantha Kingston was strong at 9.25 out of 10. Most of the reviewers felt that Zoey understood her character, and made the audience feel for Samantha, not being too over-dramatic, though one reviewer did think that her acting felt forced in some moments.
Logan Miller’s portrayal of Kent hit a 7.25 out of 10, with one reviewer stating Kent as a “big lovable smush of a character with such heart and sincerity. I could have used a dash more charm, but I fell for him all over again all the same.”
Halston Sage’s portrayal of Lindsay Edgecomb impressed at 8.75 out of 10. One reviewer stated Sage had “the right amount of intensity, and anger were all present in her portrayal of Lindsey,” while another one stated that “Lindsay wasn’t quite as fleshed out as she was in the book, but I loved-to-hate her mean girl flair.”
In regards to Elena Kampouris’ portrayal of the bullied Juliet Sykes, our reviewer Kait stated “Elena Kampouris ran this whole movie as devastated social outcast Juliet Sykes. Her performances gets her ALL the cookies!”
Undoubtedly, this was probably the YA movie that was a hit for us that read the book, with an average overall rating at 8.25 out of 10.
Kait stated “the movie really hit all the key points and kept the soul of the novel in tact beautifully.” Reviewer Molly added that it was “very faithful to the book and kept the books core messages about life and love in tact.”
Though the actors did portray their characters well, it wasn’t without its issues, stated by reviewer Nat in that “for the most part the movie did follow the book well enough, but something about the pacing in some scenes or the editing didn’t come about as smoothly as it could’ve.”
A couple of scenes that didn’t make it into the movie were noted, of course. Kait would have liked to see that small scene between Sam and Lindsay. “It’s not an important scene, but I love the day in which Sam and Lindsay skip class and wreak havoc at a local frozen yogurt shop.”
Nat had a preference for more of Kent. “There was another small moment in the book with Sam and Kent that I wish was in the movie, basically because I wanted more Kent scenes.”
In regards to what was liked about the movie that was different from the book, the fact that the moment in the book where Sam has a more intimate encounter with Mr. Daimler was skipped in the film was a welcome relief to reviewers Molly and Nat, while Kait noted the “sexual encounter Sam has with Rob dives into the film’s themes of regret and expectations, and it’s something that Lauren Oliver herself has praised.”
As far as our favorite scenes, Molly and Nat enjoyed the moment in which Sam spends the day with her little sister, Izzy. Nat also added the scene in which Kent takes care of Sam when she breaks down after having a less-than-stellar intimate moment with Rob. Kait’s noted that Sam’s moments with her mom hit her hard.
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