Relationships are so important.
We see this truth reflected in our culture, especially in our stories. Read a book, watch a movie or TV show or listen to a song, and you are sure to find a relationship in there somewhere, specifically romantic relationships.
Other kinds of relationships are important, but none of them capture the imagination the way that romantic relationships do. Parents and grandparents, siblings, co-workers and your best friend all have a huge impact on our lives, yet the relationship with a significant other is different.
Wong Fu Productions’ first feature film puts the romantic relationship front and center. A young couple learning about love for the first time and an older pair with a (not so shiny) history learn what it means to love and to fail to love.
What makes this love story different? Set in California in the near future, our blessed national government has set up an agency called the Department of Emotional Integrity. It basically gives you a credit score ranging from zero to 100, but for your relationship.
This score can be accessed by institutions like banks and universities to determine your eligibility for their services. Your score drops if you have a breakup (oh, and all relationships have to be registered with the DEI) or if you get into a relationship with someone who has a score lower than yours.
The film opens with an infomercial of the DEI, which explains its purpose: “DEI brings structure to the chaotic mess that comes with falling in love.”
Some people don’t like the idea of the government getting in the bedroom, but in Everything Before Us, the government is getting into your heart! Yikes!
The movie’s plot is nothing special. And that’s not to disparage it -- all love stories are basically the same, after all. People fall in love, they hurt each other and fall out of love and they make efforts to fix the relationship.
It either works or it doesn’t, and the cycle starts all over again. As Ben, the more experienced male half of the relationship explains to his younger counterpart, Seth, “There’s nothing wrong with being wrong, man. You’re supposed to make mistakes. You’re just supposed to get hurt. That’s what love is.”
The shining performance of the movie is definitely Brittany Ishibashi as Sara, a woman aspiring (and struggling) to run her own café. While much of the dialogue is generic and culturally bland, Ishibashi manages to bring a refreshing breath of sincerity and authenticity with her performance.
Overall, Everything Before Us is a very conventional love story. It, unfortunately, fails to play up its most interesting feature, a government agency that rates and manages relationships. It is worth a watch, however, if you want to analyze how modern day relationships tend to function.
For example, there was no one over about 40 and only one child (an 8-year-old) in the film; modern love is conceptualized as the domain of young people in the prime of life. The kinds of things that contribute to relationships breaking down are risky decisions like going to frat parties and getting drunk with your ex.
However, though you can get these messages out of the movie if you try, the focus remains on relationships and what we all know makes them go around: love.
