Following his first concrete foray into acting with the HBO show The Idol, pop superstar The Weeknd sets his sights on the big screen with a new film that he has also co-written. Hurry Up Tomorrow follows The Weeknd (portrayed by The Weeknd himself under his real name of Abel Tesfaye), a pop superstar plagued by insomnia, a painful breakup, and strained vocal chords while in the midst of an international tour. After his chords finally give out at the beginning of a performance, The Weeknd flees from best friend and manager (Barry Keoghan) and absconds with a fan from the crowd named Anima (Jenna Ortega). After a night of fun, Anima pulls him into a nightmarish odyssey that forces him to confront the emotional turmoil he’s been avoiding.
What will immediately come to mind with this film is the parallels that it shares with the 1990 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Misery. Both deal with a an artist struggling in their lives having a fateful encounter with a disturbed fan and the resulting ordeal bringing them back from their funk as a result of having to find the strength to survive. The two films have starkly different thematic elements however, with Hurry Up Tomorrow choosing to explore love and relationships instead of the insane demands of fandom. The Weeknd is grappling with the end of his relationship with his longtime girlfriend, frustrated with her treatment at the hands of a mega famous star who is so coddled that he shows little care in how he treats others, and his desire to be a better partner but inability to do so because of his privileged rock star lifestyle. His deranged fan Anima is likewise dealing with her inability to treat her loved ones with respect, in this case her mother. Both are searching for answers for what ails them and for The Weeknd’s part, he finds unlikely solace with his tormentor. It’s an interesting concept, but with questionable execution.
The first misstep in what Hurry Up Tomorrow tries to accomplish as a film is the its meandering first half. The first 50 minutes establish the backgrounds for The Weeknd and Anima, showing the turmoil of their personal lives that lead to their fateful encounter. While it does provide explanation, it fails to create any compelling rooting interest or empathy for either character. We see Anima running from something she has done and The Weeknd hurting from losing his girlfriend for some unrevealed transgression, but neither is elaborated on enough for audiences to care and become invested. Once the two meet and things take a turn for the worse, the story does finally become interesting, but it does pack nearly as big of a punch as it would have had the setup been better executed. Tesfaye is serviceable as a fictional version of himself, performing well enough to not be completely obliterated next to Ortega who performs capably despite the material she has been provided. Ultimately, it’s not enough for a film that comes across as more of a vanity project that means well but could have been something more in more capable, experienced hands than the aspiring pop star turned actor that is Tesfaye. One can only hope this film doesn’t further damage the reputation of director and co-writer Trey Edward Schultz who created an unsung gem in 2019’s Waves that similarly landed flat with critics and audiences despite deserving much more.
Image: Lionsgate
