Review & Plot
Look Both Ways tells the story of a young animator named Natalie using the premise of "two routes diverging in a yellow forest". In addition to defining his life for the next five years, he knows exactly what he wants and when he wants it to happen for him.
After college, Natalie wants to settle down in Los Angeles with her best friend. His plan begins with his move to Los Angeles to establish himself as a creative animator. Given that it's the last night of college, she and Gabe engage in a spontaneous act that leads to the pair having. This prompts Natalie to take a pregnancy test as the prom party heats up outside.
According to the results of the pregnancy test, Natalie's entire existence is divided into two possibilities, each of which provides information about the real future. As the film alternates between the two timelines, we learn what it all means.
Why is Natalie taking a pregnancy test?
In the film, the main character's life is shown in two different directions at the same time. Natalie seems to be chatting with her classmate Gabe the day before her college graduation. As a result, she finds herself throwing up on the floor at prom.
She could be sick from gas station sushi, or equally pregnant, leading the audience to two alternate realities: one with a negative outcome and one with a positive outcome. Both possibilities result in inspirational, cute and meaningful messages.
What two alternate realities does Look Both Ways present?
In the universe where the test is positive, after a brief conversation with Gabe, Natalie plans to conceive the baby. When he returns home, his mother and father are disappointed and angry that their discipline has been changed. But gradually they calm down and allow Natalie to stay with them to help with the baby. Gabe continues to be involved and accepts his fair share of roles and responsibilities.
In an alternate reality where the outcome is negative, Natalie heads to Los Angeles with her best friend Cara. She gets a job with her idol, Lucy, and has a meaningful relationship with a young producer named Jake. He believes that he is on the right path, but he does not know that his plans sometimes fail.
What challenges does Natalie face?
Pregnant and choosing to keep the baby, Natalie believes it's the right thing to do, but she can't help but feel bad that she can't move to LA and live the life she dreams of. She should have moved on in her career, but instead she is back home and in charge of the child. Shortly after becoming a mother, she experiences the consequences and fears she no longer has a life. His daughter Rosie is the center of his universe.
Her romantic life is also a complete mess. While she's definitely in love with Gabe, she doesn't want to jeopardize their close friendship at that time for Rosie. She wonders how it will affect their child if they start dating and then break up.
Natalie can't be around her friends
because she can't trust anyone with Rosie. Natalie comes home from vacation earlier than planned. She confronts Gabe about leaving her child with a babysitter. He explains that the reason he went home for a long time was that he proposed to his girlfriend. Heartbroken by the news, Natalie goes into overdrive as a defense mechanism.
In the alternate reality, although she is successful in finding a job with her idol Lucy, it takes some time for Natalie to be able to show her portfolio to an employer. Natalie is hired by Lucy, and she immediately realizes that it's not what she wanted, as she spends almost all of her time fetching coffee instead of showing off her creativity.
By this time, he already dreamed of becoming a famous animator.
Natalie also planned to fall in love with Jake. However, he completely overlooks the possibility that they could break up, a scenario that occurs when Jake receives money for his film and demands to stay in Nova Scotia for six months. Despite their best efforts, the couple's romance begins to crumble due to the distance between them, and Natalie loses her job as Lucy's employee.
How is the conflict between the two realities resolved?
The point of the movie is that there are many routes that life can send you on, but no matter which one you choose, it has the potential to get you where you want to be.
In one reality, Natalie creates the Night Owl animation based on her daughter after Lucy criticizes her work. He is then invited to participate in a panel at SXSW. Gabe, their child, and Natalie's parents all go to show Natalie their support.
After Gabe and his band perform at the festival, Gabe and Natalie talk. She explains that she and her ex broke up after getting engaged. Both confess their feelings for each other. In addition, Natalie expresses her exhaustion by worrying about their potential failure. Natalie decides to try things with Gabe and finally admits her feelings for him.
Natalie's projects become a success for her in both realities. So he makes a film and releases it, despite not following the five-year plan either way. He additionally finds happiness and love in both situations. The two rekindle their romance when Jake follows her voicemail to see her craft at the festival.
What timeline does Natalie's story actually follow?
Two different realities converge at the film's climax when the couples travel to Natalie's former sorority house, the site of a terrifying pregnancy test. Approaching the mirror, Natalie reassures herself that she is fine and that whatever happens, everything will be okay in the end.
No one knows for sure which of the timelines is true, but that's part of the movie's message: Despite the obstacles and options available, situations will always resolve themselves.
The protagonist faces challenges in both types of reality. Along with fundamentally different struggles, Natalie's five-year plan is abandoned in both cases for different reasons.
Natalie uses her life experiences from both realities to make her ultimate goal of becoming an artist, and whether or not these two realities take her on different paths, she succeeds in achieving her goal from the beginning. to LA or experienced the rejection of his idols.
Despite the negative pregnancy test results, Natalie continues to enjoy her dream job and the partner she loves. A positive test result leaves him with a partner he loves and a happy career with a child who inspires him for his profession.