By Tia Welsh
Intro: Look Both Ways Review
Where to stream it? Netflix
Starring: Lili Reinhart
Directed By: Wanuri Kahiu
This guest post was written by Tia Welsh.
What happens if one moment changes your life? That’s the main question Lili Reinhart explores in her new film, Look Both Ways.
Swapping the dark tidings of Riverdale for the more lighthearted and brighter strokes of post-college life, the storyline visits two different outcomes to Natalie’s career, after an accidental hook-up leads to pregnancy. The movie weaves motherhood, artistic flair, and colorful spirit to bring a heart-warming watch to the screen.
Raw truths, relatable feels, and unrealistic goals
After watching the trailer last month, my heart fluttered with excitement for this movie.
Mainly since its story arc of “following your dream” resonates with my own professional career aspirations. Also because I can’t stop listening to Tina Parol’s empowering track Daylight which features in the showreel.
I’d been waiting for a movie like this to pop up this summer, one that would address the harsh realities of chasing said #careergoals. Like Lili Reinhart’s free-spirited character, Natalie, I’m creative, ambitious, and hellbent on making it as an artist (not an illustrative artist but as a script writer).
Watching this made me reflect on my own moments. It felt wonderful to see it play out before my eyes, and be able to relate to the same creative struggles and personal and professional setbacks.
A fractured reality
The crossroad concept which focused on pregnancy was clever and thought-provoking, yet it wasn’t one I hadn’t heard before. An actor friend of mine had a similar path to this, a path to a prestigious drama school and yep, they had a child and it never happened. Yes, they did go to drama school, but not THE one everyone was brought up to aim for.
Now they run their own theatre business. Yes they didn’t reach their goal, but it didn’t stop them from adapting and reacting to the cold, hard slap life gives you.
As Reinhart plays out the lives of Natalie, despite their different paths, she still manages to achieve her dream of becoming an artist. Though we will never know which outcome was correct, the film proves that no matter what stage you’re at in life, dreams can still be lived- even if it means pursuing it in a different way.
Layering the dream upon the backstory of being a full-time single parent also makes this film inspiring and empowering for audiences.
Sliding doors
In some ways, the story structure is very like that of Matt Haig’s novel The Midnight Library, which also follows a female protagonist who relives different moments of her life, based on the decisions she makes (a worthy read!).
The arc has the sliding doors effect in which the character chooses or sees which outcome her decision could lead to. Having different scenes and storylines interlaced with one another made it an intriguing watch, though at times hard to follow.
Reinhart was granted a fantastic opportunity to polish her acting skills and really go to town on the character she donned. From a writer’s perspective it’s clever to see the same character carved into two different paths.
Final Thoughts: Look Both Ways Review
I always find myself daydreaming about “what if” moments. They appear out of the blue, like blue whales in the deep, after the event has happened.
Watching Look Both Ways really made me think about the choices in my life and the other paths which could spring up. Would the same people still pop in? Yes? Maybe? Never?
It’s an answer which probably falls into the philosophical bracket and will keep us awake, late into the night. Still there’s no harm in daydreaming, just a little bit.
Tia Welsh
Tia is a writer with a flair for script and words in general, based in the Isle of Man, British Isles. She studied Creative Writing at York St John University in the UK, and has written for radio, social media, and other various website platforms. Her writing has won a few local poetry and short story competitions, and she has also created a radio podcast ‘A Mark on the Page.’ She loves Studio Ghibli, Disney, and anything magical and is currently writing three TV series.
