LONDON: The rom-com “Look Both Ways,” now streaming in the Middle East on Netflix, is a welcome reminder that, sometimes, a movie doesn’t need to be incredibly innovative, complex or subversive to achieve its goal. High-concept films are all well and good, but sometimes you just want something entertaining, to make you feel warm and fuzzy. And so it is with Netflix’s “Look Both Ways,” starring “Riverdale” star Lili Reinhart, in which the US actress plays Natalie — twice, as it turns out.
On the evening of her college graduation, Natalie takes a pregnancy test and her life (not to mention our story) splits in two. In the first, the test is negative, and she moves to Los Angeles with her best friend, takes a job in an animation studio, meets handsome producer Jake (“Hollywood” star David Corenswet, blessed with the slightly bumbling charm of a younger Brendan Fraser) and dreams of making her own movies. In the second, the test is positive, so she and the baby’s father Gabe (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” actor Danny Ramirez) break the news to Natalie’s parents and set about amicably coparenting their daughter in Texas.
“Look Both Ways” stars “Riverdale” star Lili Reinhart. (Supplied)
Though director Wanuri Kahiu (“From a Whisper,” “Rafiki”) makes a real effort to paint neither narrative as ‘the good’ option, there’s an ever-so-slightly unpalatable feeling that Natalie’s life in LA, without a child, is more in line with the movie’s exciting, empowering, aspirational message. And while the ‘baby’ timeline has its fair share of rewarding moments for Natalie and Gabe, that storyline dwells far more on the notion of giving up (or, at the very least, postponing) any dreams the pair may have had before they got pregnant.
That said, there’s more than enough happiness to go around. Unlike 1998’s “Sliding Doors” — a movie whose concept has been unashamedly plundered here — the stakes feel relatively low. Nobody dies, and for the most part, everything works out alright in the end. When you keep that in mind, the real genius of casting Reinhart is revealed — she’s such a likeable actress, playing such a likeable role that she can’t fail to be unerringly charming — and the movie’s feel-good message (there’s no right or wrong choice for Natalie, and happiness is available wherever she decides to find it) can really hit home.