Look Both Ways – Review
111 Minutes, Rated TV-14
Written by April Prosser
Directed by Wanuri Kahiu
Synopsis:
On the eve of her college graduation, Natalie’s [Lili Reinhart] life diverges into parallel realities: one in which she becomes pregnant and remains in her hometown, and another in which she does not and moves to Los Angeles. In both journeys, Natalie experiences life-changing love, pursues her dream career as an artist, and rediscovers herself.
There are lots of films about people somehow jumping from a life they have to a life they might have had or otherwise thought they wanted: Freaky Friday, The Family Man, The Change Up, etc., but in all of these types of films, the protagonist is aware of the shift in circumstances in their lives, normally in order to learn some profound lesson.
Rarely do you get a film in which we are shown the protagonist living out both sets of lives simultaneously and without knowledge of the other.
It’s like watching various timelines of the multiverse simultaneously. The idea is that some event changed, resulting in said parallel narratives being explored.
But again, the protagonist is supposed to learn some profound lesson. Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the higher profile examples of this. Make a train, miss a train, what difference can it make?
Look Both Ways is a bit different in that it’s not an action that kicks of the divergence, but a consequence. After having sex with her college best friend right before graduation, Natalie takes a pregnancy test.
Positive or Negative? Why not both?
From this point, we get to watch Lili Reinhart experience life both as a 22-year-old illustrator in LA trying to make it big and as a 22-year-old single mother (after rebuffing the offer of marriage so as not to lose the relationship with the baby-daddy [you can see where this is headed, can’t you?]) living at home with her parents again and no longer pursuing her dreams.
Look, I’ll be honest; this movie isn’t really for me. Wasn’t made for me, but I could still find some relatability to Natalie’s creative desires and uncertainty and disappointment at losing it, okay?
But that being said, Look Both Ways isn’t bad, really. What’s weird is that I didn’t really care about super-successful LA Natalie and her 5-year plan. Even her “downs” weren’t that bad.
The more interesting storyline is single-mom Natalie. That’s a story with teeth, with some meat on the bone.
Some reality.
A reality that could have been a standalone narrative.
Life throws a wicked curveball; you learn to hit it. Nothing goes as planned (“plans” hahahahahaha), and children can center or consume your life, depending on how you approach it.
And while both Natalies end up in basically the place, the 5-year plan hadn’t actually helped either of them; the result is that, for me at least, the single-mom Natalie’s felt more honest, more earned.
More genuine.
The film never gets preachy about whether or not pregnant Natalie should or shouldn’t have an abortion (thank God), not does it impose a judgement on which of her outcomes is “better” than the other (which is also a good choice, allowing thoughtful discussion instead of ramming a POV down the audience’s throat).
This is an interesting date-night movie, even though a positive/negative pregnancy test is a weird premise for date-night. The differing relationships the two Natalie’s experience, and the borderless integration of the telling of them, makes this more than just a random rom-com exercise.
Look Both Ways is streaming exclusively on Netflix and stars Lili Reinhart, Danny Ramirez, David Corenswet, Aisha Dee, Andrea Savage, Luke Wilson, and Nia Long.
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