A Review of ‘Step Back, Doors Closing’: A sweet tale of getting on the right track to tour love
Two young adults whose lives have gone astray hope to find love, humour and meaning in each other.
‘Step Back, Doors Closing’: A sweet tale of getting on the right track to tour love
Cast: Carmen Berkeley, Reilly Walters, Michelle Macedo, Ashley Romans, Mershad Torabi, Janae Palmer Cruz, Al Sotto, Steven C. Fisher, Geri Courtney-Austein, Barney Fitzpatrick, Emmanuel Taye, Cassie Anderson, Alvin Maddox, Dottie Castille, Lauren Scott, Frank Hobbs
Critic’s Rating: 3 Stars out of 5
Director: Carter Ward
Duration: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Language: English, Spanish (with subtitles)
Release: 2024
What’s it about?
Two young adults whose lives have gone astray hope to find love and meaning in each other.
Review:
With Step Back, Doors Closing, viewers are invited on an appealing journey of romance, comedy and drama – all unfolding in less than 24 hours. Though this film doesn’t offer much by way of a plot, it compensates with sumptuous character definition and striking dialogue, as well as the on-screen chemistry of its two leads. When two young adults are at an unprofound juncture in their lives, could bonding and love be right around the corner? Can their fortuitous crossing of paths provide them with direction? And is mutual attraction a choice, or is it a question of destiny? These seem to be the central themes of a film that swerves from being just another Romcom. However, the premise’s obvious resemblance to the popular Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight franchise diminishes any claim to originality.
Grad-schooler Julisa (Carmen Berkeley) who has flown into Washington D.C. from Los Angeles, has a chance meeting with Ryan (Reilly Walters) as they both board a metro train from the airport. Noticing that Julisa is struggling to revive her damaged cell phone, the young man offers her his own, so that she may contact a local friend. The two strike up a conversation which builds upon itself, as Ryan offers to squire the lady visitor around his hometown. While the two await a response on Instagram from Julisa’s pal Sierra (Michelle Macedo), acquaintance evolves into familiarity and friendship. After a couple of comically unsuccessful attempts at dumping their luggage at hotels, the duo grab a cab for a party being hosted by Ryan’s friend Kesang (Ashley Romans). This, while encountering a cab driver (Mershad Torabi) en route who turns out to be quite the philosopher-cum-wannabe actor.
While initially just amused by Ryan’s articulate and endearing charm, Julisa grows to becoming enamoured of him as she begins to engage in this game of comment-and-repartee. The two flirt with the concept of being romantically involved while also confiding in each other about their current trials and tribulations. One painful revealing follows another, inviting sympathy and consolation and the offering of fresh perspective. As evening morphs into night, Ryan and Julisa cover several topics - from relatives and friends, to their college experiences, to the drudgery of life without passion, to one’s ideal proposal of marriage, to the mystical nature of love. While their other friends seem to fade into the background, Julisa and Ryan’s affection for each other takes on a whole new dimension at a restaurant which houses a famous booth.
The film keeps the audience in anticipation of that dramatic twist which is so often an ingredient of the Romcom genre. Will it come or will these lovebirds circumvent it? After all, they are strangers from opposite coasts of the American continent. Will their obligations and commitments mar genuine love from blossoming and growing? And will Julisa and Ryan make the right decision while making the most of their limited time together? In the meantime, will positive habits rub off onto each other, demonstrating their compatibility? Yes, there is a lot of thought-provoking substance to this film, which is bound to find resonance with those who have fallen in love as well as those who are thrown together and pulled apart by circumstance.
Though Berkeley and Walters charmingly capture the essence of a blooming relationship, the real star of this film is the scripted verbal interaction. This feature, courtesy debutante writer-director Carter Ward, makes the on-screen talk sound natural and unforced, while also being frequently funny in a droll and surprising way. There’s a lot of innocent affection too, as when Berkeley wants to swap seats at the eatery’s table and Walters says, “I promise you, whatever side you’re on, I’ll have the better view.” Though Ward mostly succeeds at getting into the psyche and the heart of his main characters, the film occasionally suffers from being a tad too talky and at other times, a bit stagy. However, odd radio and mentally-voiced interludes add a unique touch to the film, as does one nice background song with lyrics. To conclude in recognition of the film’s analogous note - when doors are closing on you… can you resist stepping back and not being whisked away to that special place called Love?
