The Map of Tiny Perfect Things

Teen romance is definitely a very hit or miss topic in many movies. They are absolutely formulaic in their plot lines and standard cliches such as happy cute or sadness music montages, at least one of the romantic partners is dealing with an illness, they are in ruts with their own respective lives, supportive best friends, and a lesson is learned from grief. With how numerous this sub-genre has been over the decades, it becomes rather difficult for any of them to land a memorable impression. This brings us to another project related to this, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, which was directed by Ian Samuels and written by Lev Grossman (the author of a short story this is based on). I noticed it was among Amazon Prime's film slate from earlier this year but didn't know much about it. After watching it, I was impressed with this pleasant little flick.

What's it about? The story follows two teenagers who are stuck in a time loop repeating the same day as they bond together. On paper it definitely has some familiarity to recent years movies that feature similar time related premises but thankfully has some variety to help it stand out. There's definitely more of a light-hearted tone to this venture as it's primarily focusing more on character rather than plot itself. The execution of its predictable narrative is handled rather well in aiming for the feel of old features regarding teenage dynamics. The existentialism factor gets addressed as the story moves forward and ends up feeling natural to a fairly satisfying experience.

That being said, there are some speed bumps that hurt it in ways that prevent from being great. The comedy in the script is very hit and miss (more of the latter than the former) though that's not focused on much. There are a few happy cute montages that get too full of itself thanks to the soundtrack that's blaring out like crazy. The science behind what's going on gets iffy with the details that are weirdly plot convenient. Compared to the recent time loop premise films, it's competent but doesn't rise above them in terms of quality (somewhat felt like a diet version of Palm Springs).

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Katherine Newton and Kyle Allen. Katherine and Kyle have pretty solid chemistry together with a fair amount of awkwardness and natural sweetness, despite the latter looking more like an adult rather than a teenager. Katherine does a pretty nice performance that starts out distant and delivers with some natural warmth along the way. Kyle is pretty solid is blending charisma that works its way out of boredom funk into feeling impacted by developments later in the story. 

 

Overall Consensus: The Map of Tiny Perfect Things is a delightful lighthearted comedy-drama that's strengthened by solid acting, great lead chemistry, and a decent albeit predictable premise, despite its cliched writing issues. ⭑⭑⭑1/2 Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes PG-13

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Ian Samuels. You want to see how it compares to time loops stories. You are in the mood for a laidback science fiction flick for those in the teen demographic. You don't mind familiar cliches.

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Ian Samuels. You aren't in the mood for a laidback science fiction flick for those in the teen demographic. You are bored with predictable narratives.