Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Workaholic learns lessons in romantic dramedy; language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Still Time
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In STILL TIME, a hapless man named Dante (Edoardo Leo) is a successful, upwardly mobile insurance man who never has time for Alice (Barbara Ronchi), his loving girlfriend, later wife and mother of his child. He wakes up on what he thinks is the day after his 40th birthday party to find that an entire year has passed and he remembers none of it. In the style of Groundhog Day, this continues to happen for years. There's no pattern as to when he will jump to the next year. Sometimes it's at wake-up time, sometimes he's tossing a ball for a puppy and the puppy comes back full-grown to indicate the year has passed. Sometimes he's looking in the mirror and when he takes a second glance he has a full-grown mustache. Each time, he seems surprised and someone fills him in on what a jerk he's been the entire year before. He learns that he ignored Alice, had a child whose name he doesn't know, neglected the child, divorced, got a promotion, had an affair, all of which he knows nothing about. Can he figure out how to stop this time jumping and realize what's important?
Is It Any Good?
Still Time offers many lovely moments that emphasize the importance of family, but it's a frustrating and at times tedious journey to get to the good stuff. Somehow, the only day in which Dante seems cognizant of his actions is on his birthday and that is the day on which he regrets all the mistakes he's told he made throughout the rest of the year and judges them as unacceptable. In other words, he's only a nice guy one day a year, which raises the question: Why is he such a bad guy 364 days of the year, oblivious, dismissive, and sneaky to the degree that his once-a-year nice self is embarrassed and rueful? Has this fate befallen him simply because he works too many hours at his job? That premise is hard to swallow.
And once he understands and accepts the routine he's been doomed to, why is he still shocked each birthday to see his daughter has grown bigger? Why doesn't he explain to his confused wife what he's going through, why he seems so perplexed every birthday, how he doesn't remember anything from the previous year? Why is he a nice, caring, decent guy only one day of the year? The movie offers no good answers, presenting an implausible turnaround that cures the problem.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the depiction of magical situations in movies. Does this film do a good job of creating and maintaining an unrealistic premise? Does it pay off with a satisfying message?
Why do you think some people work too much? Do you think Dante wanted a big house, a fancy car, and wealth for his family, or for himself?
The movie suggests that Dante is a nice guy only one day a year, ignoring and abusing people in his life all the other days. How does this support or contradict the movie's final message?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : March 16, 2023
- Cast : Edoardo Leo , Barbara Ronchi , Mario Sgueglia
- Director : Alessandro Aronadio
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 108 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : March 29, 2023
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