Your Lucky Day
WELL GO USA
Dan Brown's Your Lucky Year could not have been released at a more emotional and difficult time, held back by the SAF and AFTRA strikes that have taken precedence for the last six months giving it – unfairly – little fan fair in terms of advertising, but even more devastating is that it arrives after the tragic news of Euphoria actor and lead performer Angus Cloud's untimely passing, is billed as the late actors last performance.
Your Lucky Day is a perfect simple exercise of creative writing at its best. An incident happens at each forthcoming ten minutes, turning the previous ten on its head and the next ten minutes that follow even more unpredictable. There is very little here within the narrative that audiences will find overly predictable or conventional in narrative arc or form. It is a breath of fresh air to watch something that is crafted with the distinctive merit of actually taking an audience on such an unpredictable and equally thrilling journey that is never patronising. Brown as writer-director excels with that aforementioned creative, unpredictable spark which allows the film to flourish within its genre while also peak and push within the creativity of tension. It is so clear from watching certain sequences that transpire out of nowhere that Brown – while writing the screenplay – would have a giant smile on his face, and that almost-unheard-of enthusiasm is well caught and trapped in the making of this venture. It loves to play with its audience and, in doing so, not only becomes engaging but wonderfully immersive with its characters and plotting.
What makes the experience all the more thrilling and capturing that wonderful sense of immersion is that, even with a limited budget, it works every single inch of its set and uses it all to its advantage, especially with its creativity of building the scope and world surrounding the characters present through character traits and their on-screen evolution as the narrative progresses. One character may start from one opposing theme and change gears depending on the actions of others or the plot. Granted, this is common character development within film writing, yet works wonders here in the intimacy of setting but equally more in tune with the influence of the plot that surrounds them, furthering the atmosphere and tension that once again is brilliantly unpredictable and thrilling. The filmmaking ability is equally as strong and thrilling, using tight close-ups to reiterate and evoke the tense claustrophobia characters are feeling in the set design, as does the production design; in regards to impacting the use of lighting and shadows. Little is left to chance here, and Brown, with his crew, has crafted a feature that feels and shows that everything has been thrown into this project, as if it's the only film they would ever have the chance to make, and that very sentiment of energy, enthusiasm and dedication is intoxicating and ever so evident onscreen.
Nevertheless, what makes this feature tick is its performance and, without such, falls into a great attempt that doesn't grasp the emotive engagement this venture needs. Thankfully, the casting and following performances are nailed, with each character having enough depth and specific traits to see them evolve with the plot as well as grow with the surrounding development that follows them. One such dynamic between the pregnant couple is Elliot Knight and Jessica Garza, who have not only great chemistry but further exclaim the nature of emotional engagement regarding their arcs and the vulnerability they bring to the screen. Not only do they achieve tenderness but how their opposing tones shift in the wake of the events that unfold is not only cleverly written but wonderfully effective with their talents showcased to make it believable. It again gives more prowess to Brown's creative level of writing, with each character's specific trait an element that does not define them but gives them an edge and predicament they must overcome and grapple with.
Then we come to Angus. Life is a cruel mistress, and to watch something which is laying the foundation for someone growing and shaping itself for something greater only to be stopped in its tracks is nothing short of tragic. History will suggest that we will never truly know how far Angus Cloud could have gone. Nevertheless, those who have watched his work and seen him grow from nothing into something undefinable know that it would have been quite special. His performance here is just that: energetic, engaging, immersive and unpredictable. It is the lynchpin that sets this entire feature off, with the actor holding his own through his entire screen time and tonal awareness that evolves and grows with whatever comes his way. As much as it is saddening to watch something for the first yet concurrently at the same time, Your Lucky Day is a perfect send-off that ultimately illustrates Cloud as a whole: a force of unpredictable and engaging direction that has the audience second-guessing its narrative and delivers a compelling and roaring energy.
