Tomorrow Morning, 2022.
Directed by Nick Winston.
Starring Samantha Barks, Ramin Karimloo, Oliver Clayton, Fleur East, George Maguire, Harriet Thorpe, Omid Djalili, Joan Collins and Henry Goodman.
SYNOPSIS:
Two pivotal days in the life of a couple interweave – the 24 hours before their wedding and the preparation for the settlement hearing around their divorce a decade later.
I think, in the world of film criticism, many of us are guilty of putting up defences. Sometimes, these are good things and allow us to have a bit of separation from the work we’re attempting to dissect and be insightful about. But sometimes, these critical faculties are a barrier to enjoying films that seek to pry at our emotions rather than our brains. Indeed, one of the real joys of cinema is watching a film that takes a battering ram to those critical defences through pure force of heart. Personally, I find it impossible to resist a straightforwardly emotional musical romance. Step forward, Tomorrow Morning.
It’s likely that your opinion of this movie can be gauged by your reaction to the names of its two stars: Samantha Barks and Ramin Karimloo. Those names are as close as you can get to modern musical theatre royalty, with Barks best known for her long association with Les Misérables and, more recently, for leading the Frozen musical in the West End. Karimloo, meanwhile, is one of the most celebrated Phantom of the Opera stars of recent years and has also played various Les Misérables roles. Musical tandems don’t get much more enticing than this.
As for the story, director Nick Winston adapts his own celebrated off-Broadway play for the screen. It tells the story of two pivotal days in the life of Will (Karimloo) and Cat (Barks), interweaving throughout the movie. One of those days is the 24 hours leading up to their wedding, while the other takes place 10 years later as they prepare for a settlement hearing amid their divorce. It’s an elegant structure – reminiscent of the very successful relationship musical The Last Five Years – and significantly changed from the stage show, in which the revelation that both couples are the same people is played as a plot twist.
Barks and Karimloo are musical veterans and, as such, are capable of bringing real vim and energy to Winston’s well-observed lyrics. There’s no sense of anybody pretending the movie is anything other than wilfully cheesy and hyper-earnest, which enables all involved to get away with some broad swings. In the hands of lesser performers this might have felt like wading through treacle, but Barks and Karimloo are utterly believable both as idealistic lovers in their late 20s and 40-year-old parents struggling with the divergent paths their lives have taken even within their marriage.
Wisely, details of the reasons behind their split are drip-fed into the songs rather than delivered as histrionic revelations. This isn’t about an affair or a fit of jealousy; it’s two people growing apart over time, paralysed by their unwillingness to confront feelings, in a way that is utterly heart-breaking. One particular segment cuts immediately between pre-wedding joy and the heat of an argument to abrupt, devastating effect. These are big emotions, handled with sensitivity.
Outside of the main cast, there are fun appearances from X Factor star Fleur East – though she perhaps handles the singing better than the acting – and Oliver Maguire as the best friends of the two protagonists, while Joan Collins and Omid Djalili get memorable single-scene cameos. There’s also a hugely enjoyable salsa sequence, choreographed and performed by Strictly Come Dancing stalwart Karen Hauer.
This is the Barks and Karimloo show, though, with the movie coming alive whenever they’re together – either in a room together or via split-screen. Their voices converge beautifully in the more complex cross-talking numbers, such as an early argument which segues smartly into song. The chemistry between the two performers is dynamite and their physicality and performance does far more to convey the passage of time than the slightly clunky differences in hairstyles and colour grading designed to delineate between the two periods.
There’s nothing complicated or clever about Tomorrow Morning. Ultimately, it’s just two incredibly talented musical performers given some excellent songs and a simple story of universal relationship turmoil. But when there’s this much charm at play, it’s impossible to stop your toes from tapping or deny the waterworks when they come. But then maybe that’s just me? My critical defences weren’t built for this.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.
