SCORE: 9.4/10

I had the treat of being recommended this movie from my friend Ian, whose brother, Brandon Barnett, was actually one of the writers. Although I am in a position to be biased, I will give a completely fair review of this movie and how I truly felt. It was freaking awesome. Indie films are their own special breed of cinema, in that they heavily focus on producing a very good story, allowing them to set themselves apart from huge, blockbuster Hollywood films.

The story was perfect. Of all the movies I have watched in my life, there was just something about the way Nicky was written and portrayed that made me connect to him more than any other character I've encountered. It was most likely a result of how realistic, simple, and human the character was that allowed me to actually step into his situations as an audience member. Francesco D'Onofrio gave an amazing performance and this film was packed with awesome moments. The moment he shares with his Step Dad on the phone was beautiful, and did a wonderful job of explaining both of their situations with the women in their life. It was a beautiful message in that everything happens for a reason, and we may never discover that reason until years into the future. The pacing was pretty fast, but I actually enjoyed the pacing the way it was. I maybe wish there would've been a little bit more development in his relationship with each of the women he was seeing, but overall I thought it was a smart choice.

I actually had a conversation with Ian this morning about the ending and the interpretation that the audience is supposed to have, so I would say I now understand the ending a lot more. At first, my jaw was on the floor because I had just got done watching the entire movie up to the end, which was amazing, and then it felt like they ended it with him going back to Lily while also keeping Evelyn as an option. Also, side note, I am fully #TeamEvelyn. All the women in this movie were beautiful. But, back to the ending. I was so disappointed in the ambiguity at the end, as it was perfectly set up for him to get closure for Lily and then end up with Evelyn, but I think that's how it was supposed to be taken. Even though it isn't clear that they didn't sleep with each other the night before, the forehead kiss signifies that he still cared for her, but did not love her anymore. I just really wish it would've been more explicit closure so it would've been more clear to the audience that he was moving on. I did really like that Alysse was hinted at getting a happy ending with his roommate, and the scene with Nicky discovering her note in the bathroom was so powerful. As someone who struggles with his weight, losing weight in hopes of being appealing to the people you want to be with is one heck of a motivator. This was one of my favorite films of 2022 and I hope to see more stuff that Brandon writes in the future. Dude has a gift!