• Release year: 2024
• Director: Nacho Vigalondo.
• Producers: Todd Brown, Maxime Cottray, Nahikari Ipiña, Nick Spicer, Aram Tertzakian and Nacho Vigalondo.
• Screenplay by: Nacho Vigalondo.
• Cinematography by: Jon D. Domínguez.
• Music by: Hidrogenesse.

Shotgun Commentary: compelling opening, increasingly dull and dragged on narrative, leading to half an hour of desperation for it to be over.

Intro

San Sebastián’s Semana de Cine Fantástico y de Terror (Week of Fantasy and Horror Cinema) kicked off with Daniela Forever. The Antzoki Zaharra, or Main Theatre, of the city utilising its central screening room for the occasion. The soundtrack, playing while the audience waited for the event to begin, left little to no doubt as to what is the target audience for this festival. Songs from popular 80s TV shows filled the room as did all the 80s kids, now excited adults getting ready to enjoy the opening gala.

The introduction was mostly made in Euskera. Except for the bits where they explain how to vote for the films and to encourage people to buy more tickets. A translation to Spanish would have been greatly appreciated. Maybe subtitles or a quick note from either a translator or the host himself, mostly to not exclude part of the audience. Luckily, all the guests, amongst whom were directors Alex de la Iglesia and Nacho Vigalondo, did speak in Spanish, so most of the relevant content was easily understood.

Entrées

After a couple of presentations, it was time for the festival trailer. An absolute fire piece, both visually and auditorily, that has been missed during the following days of the festival. Then the sponsor, a local supermarket, with a hilarious advertisement that combines the spirit of the festival with that of the shop itself.

And the last bit before the film, a short film called Planetagatik (Eneko Muruzabal Elezcano, 2024). The short presents a dystopia in which humans are subjected to extreme measures in order to be as ecological as possible. The line between common sense and hilarious extremes is left for you to trace in this comedic story of a future that seems less far-fetched by the minute.

Review

References everywhere

Daniela Forever begins as a pretty dull romantic drama with some unoriginal sci-fi notes, and slowly evolves into a Blink Twice (2024) type of horror that is stressfully slow-paced and anticlimactically non-violent. Henry Golding plays Nicolás, a DJ who has lost his girlfriend, Daniela (Beatrice Grannò), in an accident. He blames himself and can’t cope with the loss, so he ends up agreeing to be part of a Total Recall-ish (1990) experiment in which he is able to pretend Daniela is alive and everything is dandy.

Since this world supposedly comes from his memories and imagination, he has complete power over what people think and do, like Kilgrave (Jessica Jones, 2015-2019). Not to worry, though, his imagination isn’t creative enough to make his own Westworld (2016-2022). Nevertheless, he does make some pretty messed-up deeds, pushing the film closer to horror than romance.

Him, her & Teresa

Nicolás’ evolution into an incel teenager who just wants an NPC for a girlfriend gets darker by the minute. Truth be told, had the film not stopped so often for pointless conversations that only drag on the narrative, it would have been quite riveting to watch. After all, realising that you are not following the heart-broken hero, but the villain, is the biggest selling point of the feature. Not that it is hard to figure out, really. Much like in It Ends With Us (2024), the red flags are there from the very beginning.

Daniela, on the other hand, has a more captivating evolution due to her unknown nature. Is she a memory, a fantasy, a Daniela from an alternate reality… all at once? The film plays with this unknown from the very beginning. Never really giving you a straight answer, leaving you to draw the conclusions by yourself. For anyone who happens to be a fan of DIY stories, like yours truly, this is one major selling point. It lets you create as many weird theories as you wish.

Both protagonists are quite well portrayed by Golding and Grannò. However, Grannò has a way more attractive character due to the aforementioned NPC-ish part of her behaviour. The plot is further thickened by Aura Garrido as Teresa. She is Daniela’s ex-girlfriend and now friend of Nicolás outside his dream world. The three of them manage to deliver enthralling performances despite the clear pace issues of the feature.

Ups and downs

Other than the unnecessarily lengthened footage, the film has a few highs and lows technically. The VFX for the dream world are fantastic. The use of lighting to make the daytime/nighttime metaphor is genius and absolutely gorgeous. As for the format, the change is a great guide to help understand the different planes that Nicolás navigates. Especially when things get way too Inception (2010).

Still, the cuts to black feel like a lazy resource. Like a fullstop after each paragraph of the script, despite there being endless other possibilities to change subject in films. And in a smaller note, for anyone living in Madrid, it is weird that Nicolás is just walking around alone. Unless there is a pandemic, or you are the luckiest person ever, chances are you will cross someone in every street in Madrid. Whether that scene was lucky or the street was closed remains unknown, but it still feels off to any Madrilenian.

All in all, Daniela Forever is a curious tale that looses its grip on the narrative and never gets it back. There doesn’t seem to be any part of the film that won’t remind you of previous works. But the combination of them all is still attractive. The subject of an experimental medicine breaking the rules and royally messing up isn’t new. In fact, just a few months ago, The Substance (2024) came out with exactly the same catalyst. Still, the gradual change of genre is interesting enough that the film could have been great with a bit more trimming during the editing process.

Advice to take from this movie:

• There can be too much of a good thing.
• It is impossible for a person to drop a bottle and not notice immediately unless they are heavily sedated.
• If you want an NPC for a partner, it is better you die alone.

What’s your take? Have you watched Daniela Forever? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀