From the editor of Notting Hill and Love, Actually–the only film my girlfriend’s mom has seen more than once– comes a film that aims for that same comfort. Set in modern day London, we follow Minnie Driver (Like the car), a woman who is convinced that she is cursed to be miserable every New Year’s. On this particular New Year’s Eve, she finds herself rushing to please her under-appreciative boyfriend and keep her pie business running afloat. Through a series of unfortunate events, she misses the clock striking midnight in a club bathroom alone and the first person that she meets in the new year is Quinn, a handsome young chap.
Happy birthday!
Yes. Minnie’s birthday is New Years Day, the same day that she believes is a cursed day for her. But Quinn brings hope that her New Year’s might not be so bad after all and they find that Quinn was also born on New Year’s Day. In fact, both of them were the first two babies born in London in the 90s. Both discover their mothers were together on January 1, 1990 and that Minnie was supposed to be named Quinn before Quinn’s mother had her baby first and took the name Minnie’s mom wanted. Minnie is enamored with the name stealer and he may just be the person who will help take her life in an exciting new direction.
The film is ultimately about seeing if people can change. Each character is stuck in their way of life. Minnie with a failing pie business that she loves dearly and cannot give up. Quinn with his dead-end job but one he feels attached to because of the great income. Quinn also struggles not to let the mental health of his mom affect his pysche but also fails to acknowledge it or get help. All the people around Quinn and Minnie has a similar struggle, they are stuck and stubborn. They believe the world is a certain way and they simply need to keep trying to work harder. This film has them open up to the many possibilities of life and how you don’t forsake your current loves by seeking out and investing in other people.
The film also has fun as a rom-com, never does it take itself very seriously and even the parts dealing with some serious themes like mental health, toxic masculinity and economic struggle are ended with a laugh. Optimism hugs every character in this film. Many of the jokes in the film reflect this. Minnie gives a typical rom-com monologue, the first kiss is magical, a friend gets the proposal of her dreams (sort of) and the characters are destined for each other. I do think these tropes and jokes, while delivered in a way where the film is aware of its tone as a rom-com, still fails to be more interesting or complex than a typical film. There are still fun bits, a bunch of character dress as Disney characters for Minnie’s best friend and it turns out she doesn’t like Disney very much anymore. They use the trope of a character running after another to set up a fun joke. Most characters don’t take time to close doors, be polite or anything else when running after the person they love. In this case, a character leaves a door open, allowing one of her friend to go into her apartment and surprise her later.
The film’s most stand out element is, without a surprise, the editing. This is both a good and a bad thing. On the bad side, the film probably should have cut some of these scenes and storylines. (Yes, this also applies to the screenwriter but the editor and director have the last say.) The film should have been aiming to get the runtime of some of the greats like Harry Met Sally, Before Sunset and Ten Things I Hate About You. A film like La La Land, despite being 2 hours, knew it had to cut the boyfriend of Mia, the female lead, within the first 15 minutes. That was the script’s overall struggle, there were too many characters and it cuts down the time you get to connect with any of them.
That is something this film should have probably done.
There is some interesting and fun cuts. For example, sets up a joke where Minnie and Quinn quickly turn to see Minnie’s parents at the door and we also see their hamster look at their parents. There’s some dynamic and quick editing associated with the first kiss that certainly grabs your attention. I think with a different photography style, it would have been more interesting but considering how the rest of the film is edited, the choice fell a bit flat. The acting is captivating overall. Quinn, in particular, fits and is styled very well for the ideal male lead in a rom-com look and he’s played with a lot of empathy by Lucien Laviscount. His work to connect with his mother who deals with schizophrenia and heal his own mental health is a journey he does a good job at bringing us through. Sophie Cookson unfortunately probably gets the least interesting lines and storylines. Her struggles with her pie business in particular which takes up a good amount of space in this tightly packed rom-com script is harder to connect with.
This Time Next Year is available on VOD/Digital on Friday, March 7th, 2025.
