The Map of Tiny Perfect Things is an almost movie. It’s at times almost unwatchable because of its indie soundtrack montaging. It’s almost too adorably twee. It’s almost retreading films before it. Those are the bad ones. It’s also almost made me cry a couple times. It almost hits Palm Springs levels of delight in its story, and it almost made me want to figure out which Marvel character Kathryn Newton is going to play, because her career is on that type of rocket ship her character would love to be on.
After a truly bizarre series of serendipitous circumstances, we learn that Mark (Kyle Allen) is stuck in time loop, reliving this same day over and over again. Stuck in a rut, he gets advice from his best friend (Jermaine Harris) to maybe go get a girlfriend. After unsuccessfully trying to woo a girl by the pool, fate intervenes in the form of Margaret (Newton), whom Mark finds out is stuck in the same temporal anomaly. Excited to find a confidant, Mark entices Margaret to go on adventures in their small town in search for a way to break the loop.
Kathryn Newton has a lot to do with why the Map of Tiny Perfect Things works. Kyle Allen and she are fairly likeable and match really well, with Allen being the cockeyed optimist and Newton carrying the dramatic weight of the movie. Newton continues to show why she is getting bigger and bigger roles, taking intentionally schmaltzy material and making it feel personal and honest. The movie comes alive when the talented actress starts getting more and more of the screen time because Newton’s performance breaks free from the cutesy twee indieness the movie is VERY content to live in.
So what of the time travel part? This movie knows how many other time travel movies exist, so it doesn’t try to add too much too the genre as you’ve got 2 novice high schoolers trying to figure this out. The story nails the two most important pieces: why did the time loop start, and how does it end, both of which fit the story nicely and are solved in a really clever way. And most importantly, the map itself is just a really sweet way to take the audience from beginning to end. Living your life looking for those small but powerful moments: a van with wings stopping perfectly in front of a man sitting on a bench, or seeing a handyman sit alone in a music shop majestically playing a piano? Those moments fill your soul, and can power you through even the darkest of time, And, most importantly, provide a way of living that is achievable for every human being! I could have done without the 3,000 indie songs, but the moments the movie maps out are perfect enough on their own that they wash away those minor acoustic guitar distractions.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things is destined to create one of those wonderful moments for the couples who watch it. They’re probably inside on a warm couch on a Friday night. Nuzzling next to them is the love of their life, sighing as they drift into and out of sleepiness. On the ground is their dog they adopted, who suddenly looks up at them with that puppy smile. And in that moment, you’ll feel as full as Mark and Margaret do, so much so that you’ll be energized to get up early and make breakfast for these two people you care about so much!