Review: Twice Upon a Yesterday

Directed by: Maria Ripoll

Written by: Rafa Russo

Starring: Lena Headey, Douglas Henshall, Penélope Cruz, Guastavo Salmerón, Eusebio Lázaro

Rating: [2.5/5]

As much as we believe we have a distinct level of control in our lives, sometimes machinations happening around us dictate more than we can simply imagine. It makes playing with destiny a fool’s errand as evidenced in Twice Upon a Yesterday where a man begs for a second chance to make things right. 

After confessing to his girlfriend of his infidelity, Victor (Douglas Henshall) has trouble with letting go when his now ex-girlfriend, Sylvia (Lena Headey) is getting married to a new man, Dave (Mark Strong). Suddenly after deeply wishing to go back and hide the truth of his infidelity, he gets his wish granted allowing him the chance to back and change the course of relationships and life. 

We’ve all been there in life where we say something we wish we could take back. This becomes especially true when the events resulting in the regretted line of dialogue lead to a series of events one cannot stand. We have this transpire here with Victor when asked directly by Sylvia if he has been cheating on her. The initial reluctance to share gets met with a slight sense of relief to get the truth out there. However, seeing Sylvia completely move on and realize he made a huge mistake haunts him and upon getting a second chance he has the opportunity to lie and try things again. Not often do individuals get a second chance at this, but this feature shows that perhaps some of these actions will result in our fate no matter what. 

Going back to the fateful day when he initially shared the truth with Sylvia allows for the suppression of truth and for Victor to turn things around. Going back does not erase the infidelity he still practiced before the conversation but he can now swear it off and make for a future where he can make it up to her without her knowledge. Where the film goes from there demonstrates a harsh truth Victor may not have the ability to see just yet. 

While initially intriguing with its premise, Twice Upon a Yesterday lacks a real dynamism to its story. Sure, going back and getting a second chance does enough to pull you in, but this film struggles to fully engage with its narrative in a way that continues to pull us, and this is partly because of the leading man at the center of the story. When you have effortlessly captivating screen presences like Lena Headey and Penélope Cruz in your feature but we spend the majority of it following Douglas Henshall, it just does not quite work. Henshall does fine in the role but does not elevate this character into someone who makes for an interesting character to follow. Instead, it leaves me wondering what in the world this man has done where in parallel universes he could either end up with Sylvia or Louise seeing as whatever charm he’s meant to have does not appear on the screen. 

Of the things that can be enjoyed in this feature, the costuming certainly presents quite an enjoyable autumnal experience in London. Headey and Cruz, in particular, have particularly distinct looks in this feature that bring out more of these characters than what they receive on the page, which pays them dust. I guess as we get further into this review, it’s evident this feature could have fared much better if more focus lied on Headey and Cruz even if the latter receives a paltry fifteen minutes of screen time despite being on the poster of this film. Plenty of meat was left on the bone for these two as what we receive just does not get the job done. 

Fun idea with lackluster execution, Twice Upon a Yesterday does not have much originality to it, especially in this era where romances explored parallel timelines. We fail to receive a captivating lead character to follow throughout this journey and when we reach the conclusion we come to the most obvious series of events. It makes narrative sense and a fitting conclusion but the journey there fails to make us care for when we reach it, which does not speak well for something meant to operate as a narrative feature film.