Geez, you make a guy Captain America and suddenly he’s François Truffaut. Perhaps a better comparison here is watered-down Woody Allen whose NYC romances seem to have a little more romance in’em. Chris Evans makes his directorial debut in Before We Go – a cute little talkie that played it just safe enough so that he didn’t embarrass himself. That’s super, Chris, now let’s make a FILM.
Wait. Is this a sequel to If I Stay?
Grand Central Station is where Nick (star/director/avenger Evans) shows off his mad trumpet skillz, offer hat at his feet. Actually, we have no idea about his skillz until much later in the film; the opening scene is entirely overdubbed which seems a cheat, no? Suddenly, Brooke (Alice Eve) runs by, dropping a phone in the process. These two are gonna be together for the rest of the film, aren’t they? Yeah, it’s one of these. Camera doesn’t cut; the shot isn’t pure; I bet this film doesn’t have the budget to be a silly romcom. We can tell from this moment alone, that Before We Go wants to be Lost in Translation, but will end up a poor-man’s version of something in the Richard Linklater Before Dusk, Before Dinner, Before Elevensies ouevre.
Brooke misses the last train out of Dodge and the station closes, kicking both people out. Nick has a party to ignore. Brooke obviously has somewhere to be as well. Do either of these people have homes? Why was catching the train so important? Why did Nick choose to hang out in the station until 1:30 in the morning? All of these are valid questions, but the most alarming coming to my forefront was: since when does Grand Central Station close?
The idea here is we have to discover more about Nick and non-Nora as the night progresses. And, consequently, enough has to either happen or be learned before we grow tired of two hot people [just] hanging out in Manhattan well after dark. Brooke is married, but not wearing a ring. Hmmmm. She NEEDS to go home, but her Prada bag was stolen. Nick is worth exactly what he made in the station that day, about $80. And he seems far more intent upon helping Brooke than helping imself. Is there a need for redemption here somewhere? Is this avoidance or generosity?
And just how did you expect to get the Prada bag back once you found it? I can’t help but think a clever movie would have solved that problem; this one just did it to get Brooke to start trusting Nick, which she should have done 20 minutes ago.
Before We Go is the kind of film that pads the run-time with 
random hand-held shots of NYC streets over dubbed by a random jazz tune; these are the kind of segues that happen in “Real Sex” or “Sex and the City.” You know, shows with actual NYC sex in them; perhaps I was put off by the Pavlovian hint sans delivery.
Alice Eve spent the first act reminding us why she has not yet received that life-defining role. However, her “improvised” party duet of “My Funny Valentine” is the kind of the kind of indy movie gem (think Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling doing “You Always Hurt the One You Love” from Blue Valentine) that somebody might just remember for more than a week. While Before We Go suffers from the same problem John Carney films have – an inability to follow through on the romance presented, I’ll give it points for the duet and the introduction of hotel room flipside art as well as the using a pay phone to call your future self gimmick. Cute. Undoubtedly, this film will have some cult devotees.
♪My independent film
Sweet cash-dependent film
You are my only work of art
Your look is laughable
Hand shot, quaint, affable
Now people tell me I’ve got heart
Critical appraise do you seek?
Is your box office kind of meek?
When dialogue runs on, is it smart?
But don’t change motif for me
Sell out belief for me
Run, independent film, run
Tomorrow is somebody else’s indy film day♫
Rated PG-13, 95 Minutes
D: Chris Evans
W: Ronald Bass, Jen Smolka, Chris Shafer & Paul Vicknair (I swear more people wrote this film than acted in it)
Genre: Romantifrienship
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Folks at relationship crossroads
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Action junkies
♪ Parody inspired by “My Funny Valentine”
