Nicolas (Henry Golding) is a British DJ living in Madrid with a group of loyal friends and a luxurious apartment. He’s young, attractive, and still has his whole life ahead of him. But after the tragic death of his artist girlfriend Daniela (Beatrice Grannò) he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He spends his days pining for her, retreating deeper into his memories, unable to move forward. In an effort to help Nicolas move on, his friend Victoria (Nathalie Poza) signs him up for a clinical trail of a brand new drug that will allow him to construct his own dreams. Through lucid dreaming, Victoria hopes that Nicolas will focus on recreating memories before he met Daniela in order to break the bond of emotional dependency. As long as Nicolas fixates on the relationship, his life will remain at a standstill. He rarely works anymore, pays attention to his friends or even leaves his apartment. All he can think about is Daniela and the pain of losing her, even as everyone around him is actively trying to heal from the loss.
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At first glance, “Daniela Forever” seems like a familiar story of love and loss, but director Nacho Vigalondo (“Colossal”) has something much darker in mind. Once Nicolas begins the trial, he’s supposed to structure his dreams around nightly prompts focused on himself and his memories before Daniela. But after he spills water on the first prompt and passes out staring at an image of Daniela on his phone, he decides to use the dreams to bring her back to him. Their time together is sweet at first, but as Nicolas delves deeper and deeper into his fantasy, his controlling nature becomes more apparent. Because this Daniela is in his head, Nicolas is able to get her to do or say whatever he wants — he can even control how she feels and what she remembers. And despite the endless possibilities of a dream world, Nicolas would rather live out his life with Daniela in the dream version of Madrid, where they are the only people on earth who matter.
To separate the dream world from the real one, Vigalondo switches from a 4:3 letterbox ratio with a grainy VHS aesthetic to a more modern widescreen digital look. This difference also serves to enhance the drabness of the real world in the wake of Daniela’s death. Why would Nicolas want to stay in a drab, faded reality when all the color and adventure is in his dreams? When he takes the pills, Madrid comes alive with color and music. Nicolas uses his dream powers to take Daniela to concerts, a haunted house, and even back to the club where they met. As Daniela, Grannò gives a magnetic performance, communicating with the audience through her expressive eyes, even as her costar calls all the shots. Though she is essentially a creation of his mind, Daniela still tries to assert her own independence. Funny, charismatic and warm, it’s clear why Nicolas fell in love with her. And Golding gives perhaps the best performance of his career so far as Nicolas, slowly unraveling as his grief and bubbling insecurity starts to get the better of him.
As Nicolas spends night after night dreaming up a life with Daniela, something strange starts to happen. Dream Daniela becomes more like her human self, expressing her frustrations with stagnation in her career as an artist. We learn that Daniela came to Madrid with big dreams, but died before she could fulfill them. Another person begins to interfere with the dreams as well — Daniela’s ex-girlfriend Teresa (Aura Garrido), whose presence upsets Nicolas despite the absurdity of his jealousy. In the real world, Daniela is dead and they’re both still mourning her. How could he possibly see her as a threat? And herein lies perhaps the most off-putting aspect of “Daniela Forever” — it’s a story about a man who is controlling, sexist, self-absorbed asshole. Much like Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s fake nice guy protagonist in 2009’s “(500) Days of Summer,” Nicolas is the kind of guy you simply don’t want to get the girl. Beneath his handsome facade and dreamy accent, Nicolas is a man who met the woman of his dreams and then completely stopped growing. Saddled with a man who is childish, petty and lacking in ambition, it’s difficult to imagine that Daniela would have stayed with him in real life.
“Daniela Forever” is the story of a man who met the girl of his dreams and didn’t stop to think that maybe she had dreams of her own. Though its darkness may be alienating, there’s something to be said about a love story that isn’t afraid to admit that one of the lovers isn’t the charming dreamboat he appears to be. And to Golding’s credit, there’s no vanity in his portrayal of Nicolas. His unraveling is honest and raw in its ugliness. Everyone mourns, even the obnoxious, self-absorbed DJs of the world. And it’s never too late to learn how to be good to the people you love.
Grade: B
“Daniela Forever” world premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
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