“Daniela Forever” Review (TIFF 2024)

Photo credit: TIFF

Written by: Gracie Lowes

The second film I was able to watch at TIFF 2024 was Nacho Vigalondo’s latest project “Daniela Forever”.

This sci-fi/ romance film follows a bereaved man named Nicolás (Henry Golding), who after his girlfriend dies in an accident enrolls in a clinical trial for a drug that allows him to reunite with his lost lover, Daniela (Beatrice Grannò), and rebuild his life with her through lucid dreams.

As someone who loves both sci-fi and romance films, I was incredibly excited to watch this movie, and I can honestly say it was an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end.

The film’s unique concept, combined with Vigalondo’s creative use of color and varying frame sizes to distinguish between real life and lucid dreams, drew me deeply into the story.

These visual techniques provided a clear contrast between the two worlds, immersing the audience in the characters' shifting realities in a way that felt both innovative and powerful.

Henry Golding and Francesca Grannò delivered remarkable performances, especially impressive given that they had to portray two distinct versions of their characters—one grounded in reality and one existing within the dream world.

Watching their chemistry unfold on screen was captivating; you could feel the intensity of Golding’s character’s love for Grannò.

His journey of coming to terms with the loss of her and rediscovering himself as an individual was both heartbreaking and inspiring. Their performances brought a layered depth to the film, making the story even more compelling.

The only real problem I had with the film with the fact that it occasionally lingers in slower moments, and due to the sci-fi aspect there was a lot of repetitiveness in the storyline (going back and forth between real and fake).

Overall, I give “Daniela Forever” three out of five stars.

The film’s exploration of love, loss, and self-discovery through the lens of sci-fi was not only visually stunning but emotional. It left me and many others in the theatre wondering what we would do in the same situation.

If you enjoyed “The Time Traverler’s Wife (2009)” or “The Beast (2023)”, this film is definitely for you.