Hurry Up Tomorrow | A Film Review
The Weeknd misses the mark in his big-screen debut
Directed by Trey Edward Shults (Waves, It Comes At Night), Hurry Up Tomorrow stars Canadian singer The Weeknd as a fictionalized version of himself, who travels through an existential journey with the help of a mysterious woman named Anima, played by Jenna Ortega.
Serving as a companion piece to the album of the same name, which was partly inspired by the film, Hurry Up Tomorrow is possibly the biggest thing Abel has done in his career. It encapsulates what’s already been a blockbuster era for him. With an incredibly cinematic album and a tour that recently kicked off, what better way to keep the momentum going than a feature film?
Similar to Prince and Michael Jackson, who had their own music-based films in the past (Purple Rain and Moonwalker, respectively), The Weeknd would be joining the likes of his idols as musicians turned actors, but it’s not the first time Abel dabbled in acting. To recall, he made a brief appearance in 2019’s Uncut Gems and was notoriously panned for his performance on HBO’s The Idol.
The show was lambasted by many, including myself, for its atrocious writing and acting, so much that HBO cancelled it after one season. It left a bad taste in fans’ mouths and has made the hype surrounding the Hurry Up Tomorrow film a little iffy. Maybe things would be better this time around? Abel’s working with a fairly respected director, and his castmates range from the previously mentioned Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan. Moreover, Abel would be playing himself, and not a character devoid of his real personality.
I’m also approaching Hurry Up Tomorrow with some bias, as I am a huge fan of Abel’s music. However, I also know when to call a spade a spade, and when to admit that something is bad, no matter how much I like the person who made it.
Well, after much anticipation, Hurry Up Tomorrow is nothing more than a glorified marketing tool for the album of the same name. The film is not as deep and philosophical as the trailers or various interviews make it out to be. Abel’s acting is only marginally better than his stint as Tedros, but he and the cast are worsened by a script devoid of any substance. Although the cinematography and soundtrack are exceptional, Hurry Up Tomorrow doesn’t do much to make itself memorable.
I’ll get the positives out of the way: visually and sonically, Hurry Up Tomorrow excels in those two regards. Cinematographer Chayse Irvin brings Abel’s universe to life, I’d argue that the film’s aesthetics and colour palettes rival the singer’s music videos. There’s an emphasis on long takes, ECU’s and 360 style shots, the latter is used quite a bit to help give the audience a greater sense of a scene’s environment, such as a burning house in the middle of a snowy roadway.
Composed by Abel and Daniel Lopatin (AKA Oneohtrix Point Never), the soundtrack takes various songs from the Hurry Up Tomorrow album and intersperses them throughout the film. It works well in most regards. For example, the interlude “Until We’re Skin & Bones” used during a chaotic club scene adds this additional anxiety and captures how overstimulating the whole situation is. If not using cuts from the album, Lopatin offers up these digitized synth pieces that sound very similar to his works on films like Good Time that pair nicely with the film’s visuals.
Despite that, visuals and sounds are not enough to save this film. In terms of acting, you’ve seen better from the film’s two A-listers, Barry Keoghan and Jenna Ortega. They felt incredibly underutilized here; they essentially play the devil and angel on Abel’s shoulders, but it never felt like that. You never get the sense that they play different voices of Abel’s psyche (which is what the intention was); rather, they come off as two edgy individuals who never add anything to the whole plot.
Then there’s Abel Tesfaye himself. By now, you’ve seen the TikTok’s of his scene where he shouts at Jenna, but it’s the best summary of Abel’s acting in the film. The way he delivers his lines had confused me at various points, often feeling comedic when a scene was supposed to be dramatic or moody. He‘s like that theatre student you went to high school with who was so convinced they were like Marlon Brando, but in reality, they came off as cringeworthy. Now it’s nowhere near as bad as his performance on The Idol, but it’s not very good either. Abel’s trying way too hard to come off as serious and melodramatic, but he just doesn’t have the skills to do so.
Now, as far as Hurry Up Tomorrow’s plot, it’s quite empty and devoid of anything. The main crux is that Abel loses his voice on stage, crosses paths with Anima (Ortega), who pulls him into an odyssey where he re-examines his ways and life. On paper, it sounds like a good idea, but it’s poorly executed when put into practice. The film touches on various aspects of Abel’s life, such as heartbreak and debauchery, but never fully explores them, thus making his whole character arc feel nonexistent. Around the midway point, there’s a dream sequence, which I assume was supposed to visualize Abel’s “a-ha” moment, but it never expands upon anything.
It’s a film about nothing; it tries to be a deep philosophical examination of Abel Tesfaye, but it’s just a big ego trip, a “oh woe is me in my gilded cage” story. You don’t feel compelled or remotely interested in Abel’s so-called plight. Even by the film’s bizarre end, there’s never any sense of resolution. Making the whole runtime feel like a huge waste of time.
For the most part, the film is just one big star vehicle for his music. Apparent during one scene where Jenna’s character plays his songs for him and describes the context for each. The film spells out what we already know about some of his hit songs, as if we’re not aware of what he’s been talking about/referring to on tracks like “Blinding Lights”. Again, going back to the film’s insistence on trying to come off as deep when it’s just surface-level, that even a casual Weeknd listener could pick up on from a mile away.
It begs the question: Who was Hurry Up Tomorrow even made for? Not for cinemagoers, thanks to an empty plot and A-list actors who are severely underutilized, and I’d say not even for The Weeknd fans like myself who loved the album and were hoping the same quality would translate to the big screen. This film is just one big vanity project for Tesfaye. Conveniently released right when his After Hours Til Dawn tour kicked off to cash in on the hype, and do nothing but feed his ego and his wallet, and I’m saying this as a die-hard fan of Abel’s music.
My final recommendation is to skip this film entirely. The Hurry Up Tomorrow album does a much better job at exploring the facets of Abel’s fame and fears that the film barely touches on. Although the visuals and sound design are great, that’s not enough to make up for the sheer waste of talent, and having to bear witness to Abel’s acting yet again. This film was an ambitious risk by The Weeknd, Trey Edward Shults, and everyone involved, but it was not a risk that anybody should have been willing to take.
