Hurry Up Tomorrow is the new film from The Weeknd which accompanies his new album of the same name. The film stars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan alongside The Weeknd. In the film The Weeknd whose real name is Abel Tesfaye is playing himself in this psychological thriller. We get a glimpse of what has been troubling the pop star and also where his mind was for the conception of the album.

We clearly should say right from the start, that unless you’re familiar with The Weeknd and his music this might not work for you. A lot of what the movie asks of you is to have some knowledge of The Weeknd’s last three albums. There’s a lot of references and callbacks as well to personal things the artist has gone through. I can already see so many frustrated who go into this without that knowledge. The film is more of a thriller with Abel trying to get ahold of his life and pave a new road. All of this with really just two other actors in the film make this a very contained story.

Jenna is great in the film from the moment she appears on the screen. The actress carries a very urgent and almost dangerous aura to herself. There are many moments where you can’t seem to calculate what she’s up to next and that can be terrifying. One of her final scenes in particular was such a unique and offbeat performance that lingers. Barry plays a debauched manager to Abel’s Weeknd character and can be personified as excess. I would’ve loved to explore this character a bit more because I felt he was underutilized. Keoghan really steals the show in the first half of the movie in a wild comedic way. There were some interesting conversations between the two that could’ve been fleshed out more.

A lot of what Trey does as a director is give you this uneasy feeling of not knowing what’s coming next. This is done through amazing camera work and stunning visuals throughout. The third act really comes alive once we get to see the horrors that lurk behind the film. It almost felt like a completely different movie and one I’d be intrigued to see more of. I feel all the characters really come into their own in this part of the movie and I would have loved that energy from the beginning. Waves is a movie that comes to mind throughout my viewing of the film but also It Comes At Night towards the end of it. I’m always excited to see what Trey does next after each of his films and this one is no different.

The film isn’t perfect of course and I won’t pretend there aren’t some problems. I do feel the film can be a bit flimsy and weak at points especially with keeping you engaged. All of these characters feel like cut-outs and don’t really get fleshed out enough to get you to care. The film at face value definitely isn’t going to linger, I think. It truly does get better the more you sit on it, but the problem will be if people decide to even do that.

Although Hurry Up Tomorrow works for me a lot, it’s clearly not meant for everyone which is evident in the film’s scores on various sites. I will say if you’re a fan of The Weeknd and in particular his latest discography this one is worth watching. If you’re not that in tune or knowledgeable with his work and latest headlines you might feel your head spinning. The film in particular of course with the title is a great accompanying piece to the latest album. Overall, the visually striking imagery and Ortega’s unorthodox performance kept me engaged throughout. The film is a lot less narrative and more so experimental and personal for Abel. It’s well worth the watch if you’re big on the music as the songs blare through the theater and transport you into the mind of The Weeknd.