‘Daniela Forever’ is an inert sci-fi pseudo-romance
The umpteenth riff on 'Vertigo' is a futuristic story of male obsession
Daniela Forever is like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, except the exact opposite. Rather than a guy trying to forget his ex-girlfriend with the aid of advanced, futuristic tech, it’s the story of one who’s trying to keep her memory alive, and he probably shouldn’t.
Set in Madrid, Daniela Forever was written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, who previously made Colossal, the 2016 movie where Anne Hathaway played a woman in the U.S. who could manifest Godzilla-style monster attacks in South Korea.
That movie, which I liked a lot, ended up largely being about toxic masculinity, and that doo is the case with the director’s follow-up, which like Colossal debuted at TIFF.
Daniela Forever stars Henry Golding (from Crazy Rich Asians) as Nicolas, a professional DJ whose artist girlfriend Daniela (Beatrice Grannò, from the second year of The White Lotus) has died in a tragic accident. Missing her and blaming himself, he soon learns of an experimental treatment that can, essentially, keep her alive in lucid dreams that Nicolas can control.
It’s very clearly a be-careful-what-you-wish-for situation, as he doesn’t follow the rules of the treatment, and it becomes unhealthy for him, to the point where he develops an obsession. And Daniela, of course, isn’t really Daniela; she represents his addled, grieving mind’s conception of Daniela.
He takes a turn towards the controlling, a la Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo, which should be shocking from an actor, Golding, who normally plays likeable characters, although his performance in the recent, mostly otherwise forgettable Another Simple Forever, allowed him to even better play against type as a drunken jilted husband.
It’s a promising premise, but the film ultimately doesn’t quite deliver. It plays with differing aspect ratios — a gimmick that seldom works — and while the dreamy world has a lot of potential for cool visuals, they don’t end up being quite that cool, even as the film uses Madrid, the director’s hometown, well. And the film never quite reaches the emotional heights that Eternal Sunshine hit.
The other problem is that there’s just a bit too much plot, especially in the third act.
When it comes to films, from TIFF last year and in theaters this year, about grieving men and modern technology, David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds was much better.