Every Day, a movie based on the novel by David Levithan, was released at the end of February and has been gaining traction and publicity ever since. Directed by Michael Sucsy, it follows the story of a girl named Rhiannon (Angourie Rice) who meets a spirit named ‘A’. A wakes up in a different body every day, and their path collides with Rhiannon’s when they wake up in the body of her boyfriend, Justin (Justice Smith), and fall in love with her.
From then, A finds Rhiannon every day they can, each time in a different body—as Nathan; as Vic, a transgender boy; as a suicidal girl named Kelsea; and in countless other forms. A tells Rhiannon the truth about their existence, and Rhiannon comes to believe them and to fall in love with them. A’s existence is not defined by gender, race, body type, class, or any other arbitrary factor. They have a distinct consciousness that becomes partially defined by Rhiannon.
Each of A’s manifestations in the film is portrayed by a different actor, and the actors flawlessly portray their characters when A is both inside them and when A is not. For example, Rhiannon’s boyfriend, Justin, is sweet and caring with A inside him, and skips school with her to go the beach. However, a few scenes later, A is clearly not there when Justin becomes uninterested in her without the prospect of sex, and ignores her almost entirely. When Rhiannon breaks up with him, he simply stares at her for a moment before saying, “Have a nice life,” and walking off. His callousness is contrasted by the warmth of A: in every person they inhabit, they make the same gesture of pushing Rhiannon’s hair back behind her ear, which continually illustrates the fact that despite their unique circumstances, A is steadfast and kind.
Every Day is a brilliant exploration of a love that transcends traditional lines and is instead defined by the unique souls of two people. There are several films that are out or coming out about non-traditional loves: Call Me By Your Name and The Shape of Water were both Oscar nominees, and the gay coming-out story Love, Simon will be released soon. Every Day, however, goes further than all of those films, and contrasts the physical aesthetics of love between many people and shows them as equal.
The film is visually exciting; as each character changes, the viewer is left to see the similarities in each of the people that A inhabits instead of the differences. While the concept may be hard to grasp at first without reading the novel, once one sees what the film does, it becomes a beautiful, unifying, and diverse story. Every Day is unique: everything—from the script, to the costumes, to the acting—is executed in way that feels like one’s own experience. It is also refreshing to see a film about high school that did not center around some sort of tragedy or excessive gossip.
The film is not all happy, as Rhiannon and A must face complex questions about their future and what that would potentially look like. Both characters must face difficult choices and make sacrifices, but these are parts of life and human nature that the film effectively captures. Every Day is an exquisite film, one that imparts valuable lessons and is most definitely worth watching.