On New Year’s Eve, Teddy (Rafe Spall) meets Leanne (Zahra Newman) after mistaking her for his girlfriend. They’re instantly attracted, and soon start building a life together, despite Teddy’s hesitation to talk about or plan for his future.
Just before they get married, a woman asks Teddy what he would do if he woke up one day and lost a year of his life. Teddy brushes it off, but the morning after his wedding, he finds his life has indeed jumped ahead a year. As time passes, Teddy watches his life and marriage unravel, no matter how hard he tries to fix the problems.
Long Story Short is a new take on the Groundhog Day-time loop idea and even gives the Bill Murray comedy its due by mentioning it a couple of times in the movie. But instead of Teddy reliving the same day over and over, his life jumps ahead a year, over and over, to the anniversary of his marriage to Leanne. Teddy isn’t always told exactly what happened in the year he lost, but it’s clear to him that things are going very wrong. He has a daughter, his marriage to Leanne is on the rocks, and he’s become a workaholic.
The movie depends solely on Rafe Spall’s ability to convey Teddy’s confusion, devastation, determination, and acceptance, and Spall delivers. In my opinion, he’s an underrated actor, and I think Long Story Short could have easily delved into sentimental hooey if not for his nuanced performance.
I have not seen Zahra Newman in anything before, but she was really fantastic as Leanne, even though Spall clearly has the flashier role. They had great chemistry, which was a big reason I invested in their relationship and the outcome of their love story. Sure, Long Story Short’s ending is pretty predictable, but I was still hooked on the journey these two characters took together.
Writer and director Josh Lawson produced something heartwarming and clever that surprised me. There are a couple of contrived moments, and I think the movie could use a tiny bit of fine-tuning, but honestly, I really loved it. It conveys the familiar message that life is short and that we should make the most of our time on this planet, but it isn’t preachy or gooey. It reminded me a lot of the ending of It’s a Wonderful Life, when George Bailey is returned to the present with his wife and family waiting for him. I may or may not have wiped away a few tears.
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