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by R.J. Carter Published: March 17, 2007
But unwilling to let go of the past, Will and his friends returned to the ceremony site later that night and, in the pouring rain, dug up the time capsule and hid it. Flash forward to high school, where the bulk of the rest of the movie takes place. Will (Andrew Baglini) is the wallflower who gets pushed around and picked last. Danny (John Schmidt) hasn't been his friend in years since an incident at the eight grade dance, and Jake (Mark Schroeder) has lived on the outskirts of school social circles ever since the start of sixth grade, making him even more alone than Will is. Will's home life isn't much better. His mother Lydia (Jody Seymour) is great, and is eager to realize her dream of going back to school and becoming an architect. But Will's stepfather, Al (Bart Mallard) is the epitome of the "evil step-parent". Al won't hear of Lydia going back to school, because of the expense and because he sees it as her shirking her responsibilities to the house. While cleaning out the basement, Will uncovers the old time capsule. As he holds it in his hands, his mind drifts back to a day in middle school... only this time, events play with a slight variation. Awaking from his daydream, Will discovers that the daydream is now a real part of his past, and changed the way he and another student -- formerly a bully to Will -- now relate. Eager to see if he imagined the whole adventure, Will returns to the time capsule, and goes back in his mind to the eight grade dance incident that separated him and Danny. Playing the event with a different choice, Will snaps back to the present just in time for Danny to come bounding down the stairs.
But Will's alterations to his destiny don't always make life better for those around him, as fates that should have gone to others now go to him, like scholarships. What's more, life at home gets more and more unbearable as Al's crushing of Lydia's spirit becomes more than Will can bear. There are a ton of secrets that Will learns about the time capsule, and revealing anything more here would spoil the enjoyment of the plot as it unfolds. But in the end, Will is left with one final choice -- one that, if he takes it, will sacrifice everything he's achieved, with no do-overs. And before he can make that change to the past, there's a challenge of friendship he has to solve in his present, one he must do on his own with no help from a time travel device. Michael Sammaciccia wrote and directed this family film, featuring a cast almost entirely comprised of first-credit actors. I was particularly taken with the believability Mark Schroeder brought to the role of teenaged Jake, as well as with several of the songs from the soundtrack. "Always Will" is an instant family classic that children can enjoy and parents can relate to. Who hasn't wished they could change something -- even just one thing -- in their past? That common chord resonates with young and old alike, and Sammaciccia hits upon it with delicate precision. Audio is in English with optional Spanish subtitles. Bonus features (not included on this reviewer's advance copy) include filmmaker and cast commentary tracks, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, outtakes, and audition footage. |
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