Not recommended under 14, parental guidance recommended 14-15 due to disturbing themes and coarse language.
This topic contains:
Children under 14 | Not recommended due to disturbing themes and coarse language |
Children 14-15 | parental guidance recommended due to disturbing themes |
Viewers 15 and over | OK for this age group |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Before I fall |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Mature themes and coarse language. |
Length: | 99 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Before I Fall is a film based on Lauren Oliver’s young adult novel of the same name. It begins as 17-year-old protagonist Samantha Kingston (Zoey Deutch) is killed in a fatal car accident as she and a friend are driving home from a party. When she awakens the following morning with vivid memories of the incident, the high school senior soon begins to realise that she appears to be re-living the last day of her life over and over again. Although initially unsure as to why, Sam comes to understand that she is stuck in the loop until she adjusts her actions and determines what choices she needs to change.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Death; suicide; personal growth; redemption; bullying
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is some violence in the film, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
Children in this age group are likely to be disturbed or confused by the plot featuring a girl living a day over and over again after apparently dying.
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the film’s themes
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
Younger viewers in this age group may also be disturbed by the film’s themes
The following products are displayed or used in this movie:
There are mild sexual references, including:
There is some partial nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is coarse language in this movie, including:
Before I fall is a film based on a young adult novel that depicts a journey of personal growth and development. Over the course of the movie, as she moves through the five stages of grief, Sam begins to readjust her priorities and discovers that the things she previously valued hold far less significance than she once thought. As a popular high school student from a wealthy family, she initially feels a sense of privileged entitlement above the social misfits in her class. However, this gradually shifts as she goes through a process of acceptance that permanently changes her, and the person she strives to be.
The film’s themes and coarse language make it most suited to older teens. It is not recommended for viewers under 14 and parental guidance is recommended for 14 to 15 year olds.
As well as the film’s main themes, parents may wish to discuss the consequences of bullying and the dangers involved in the risky behaviours shown in the film.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
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Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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