The Map of Tiny Perfect Things: A Charming Rom-Com with a Twist
Nyles and Sarah from “Palm Springs” barely escaped their time loop when new, even younger heroes stumbled into a similar predicament. Mark (Kyle Allen), a high schooler, leaps out of bed with gusto, helps his dad with the crossword puzzle, teases his sister, gives directions to an attractive passerby, and generally embodies the epitome of a lucky guy – like Harry Potter after a swig of Felix Felicis. It turns out this perfect morning is meticulously rehearsed countless times. Mark isn’t even trying to break free from the loop; he only wants to win over the girl who keeps getting lost. One day, his carefully crafted flirting routine is interrupted by Margaret (Kathryn Newton), another prisoner of the temporal anomaly. Naturally, spending an eternity together in a loop is more fun.
It’s worth noting that despite the close release dates, “Palm Springs” and “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things,” while similar, are also distinct, like siblings who share a family resemblance. “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” is more sentimental, endearing, and rosy-cheeked. It finds room for the many small wonders hidden in each day – enough to create a map of amazing and random occurrences (hence the title). Coincidences, parallels, and amusing events fill the small town: a dog steals a passerby’s phone around a corner, karma punishes a vain man near a parking meter, and a bird of prey catches a fish mid-air outside the city. Margaret can’t tear her eyes away. It feels like time loops could fill a genre shelf of romance fused with fantasy, akin to Richard Linklater’s trilogy, where “The Map” is the first encounter, “Palm Springs” is the limbo of slightly less romantic but still touching thirty-somethings, and the original “Groundhog Day” completes the triptych of infinities with the wisdom of age.
More Than Just a Time Loop
Behind the series of incredibly beautiful and lovingly crafted scenes, like a papier-mâché cosmos in a gym, a room completely covered in feathers from pillows, or rehearsed waltzes through the town where Mark and Margaret interfere with events (the choreography is genuinely impressive), lie the painful issues of a generation. Stripping away the quantum physics, “The Map” can be reduced to a coming-of-age story with the typical spectrum of teenage problems: choosing a college, misunderstandings with parents, and the desire to linger in adolescence. The time loop is a great chance to extend summer vacation forever. On the other hand, some attempts to stop time sound more dramatic and even more mature than in “Palm Springs” – every passing minute could be someone’s last.
A Reminder to Look Beyond Yourself
Beyond all the facets and nuances of the time cube and the search for the fourth dimension, the film’s main achievement is its light tone and the fact that it’s impossible to stop smiling while watching it. The incredibly natural young actors, Kyle Allen and Kathryn Newton, revel in each other and their post-apocalyptic existence. Despite the world not disappearing, there’s a strong sense that the teenagers are in a post-cataclysm universe, and the people around them are just decorations – nothing more than bright cardboard. Here lies the main surprise, a thought worth expressing today, whether in the language of a rom-com or a horror film: sometimes the world doesn’t revolve around you. It may well turn out that you’re not the main character in the movie, but a supporting one, and sometimes it’s worth listening to those around you and trying to see someone beyond your own “self.”
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Simple Truths, Beautifully Told
“The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” presents simple truths for every day in a careful, handwritten style, like the ink-written credits at the beginning of the film, and doesn’t try to pretend to be something more. It’s a sentimental, charming, and good-natured rom-com that reminds us to enjoy life from time to time and look around – maybe there’s some other impressive nonsense that can be added to the map of moments.