Netflix's 'Look Both Ways' Reviewed: Life Is Alright Both Ways

It is difficult to find a dramedy that decides to show audiences what happens when a character is taken on both journeys following two very opposite choices. In Look Both Ways, Lili Reinhart’s Natalie falls sick during her graduation party when her friend Cara brings pregnancy tests just in case it isn’t spoiled sushi from the gas station. The test reveal is when her life splinters into two very different directions. Unlike Bandersnatch, this film doesn’t give its viewers the opportunity to explore different choices even as the story progresses. 

When she does get pregnant, she moves back into her parents’ house, riding out the pregnancy there till she can get her bearings as an animator. In the other timeline, she moves to Los Angeles and gets a job as an assistant to an acclaimed animator Lucy (Nia Long). As she spends more time at the job, she starts to get antsy about her own work as an animator. After some time, she submits her work sample to Lucy, hoping for some encouraging and inspiring words. What she doesn’t expect is getting fired for not being original. While this becomes rock bottom for LA Natalie, Texas Natalie is still coming to terms with the fact that there is a child depending on her now.

Onslaughts of bad experiences including the father of her child getting engaged to someone else, her skipping out on a vacation with her best friend to check up on her daughter Rosie, Texas Natalie has had a terrible time being a mother. It seems like everybody has been moving on with their lives while she is stuck parenting. This point becomes the rock bottom for Texas Natalie. After this is the come up for both of them. Whether it was being a panelist at the South by South West Festival (SXSW) or having your film screened there, both Natalies received acclaim for the work they have been putting in the long hours for. 

Bordering on unrealistic, the film does a good job at remaining neutral with the two choices. It shows us the good aspects of being a mother while also showing the downfalls of being independent (thanks to American individualism, these concepts haven’t seen the light of day in a while). Furthermore, Lili Reinhart’s portrayal of the two facets within the same character shows how talented she is as an artist. If you’ve watched Chemical Hearts, it was abundantly clear that Reinhart has the capacity to make a rom-com performance feel elevated. With Danny Ramirez (Gabe) and David Corenswet (Jake) supporting Reinhart, the film became one with audience acclaim. Currently topping charts, it should be hardly surprising because it’s a diversion from the genre. It makes the film seem more real to our life, while also indulging in some fantastical multiverse-like elements. 

What could have made the film a winner was if it explored the multitudes of choices she was making even within the life-changing one. What if she had started animating as soon as her child was born? What if she never got the job of being Lucy’s assistant? What if she married Gabe as soon as Rosie was born? These unanswered serendipitous questions make the film a little convenient, instead of acknowledging that there were multiple directions this could go. Overall the film is a good watch, worthy enough to curl into your blankets and watch with friends. 

Look Both Ways is streaming now on Netflix.