HURRY UP TOMORROW
(director/writer: Trey Edward Shults; screenwriters: Reza Fahim, The Weeknd; cinematographer: Chayse Irvin; editor: Trey Edward Shults; music: Daniel Lopatin, The Weeknd; cast: Barry Keoghan (Lee), Riley Keough (voice of the The Weeknd’s girlfriend), Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd), Jenna Ortega (Anima); Runtime: 105; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Reza Fahim, Harrison Kreiss, Kevin Turen, The Weeknd; Lionsgate; 2025)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Trey Edward Shults (“Waves”/”It Comes at Night”) helms this self-indulgent music video about the character called The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye. He’s a popular rock singer who starred in the HBO series The Idol.
This feature acts as a promotion for The Weeknd’s new album, and as a form of self-therapy for this druggie and alcoholic rocker balling all the time because his girlfriend left him and called him a bad person.
It’s a movie geared for his fans, with its best asset being that it’s slickly filmed.
After losing his voice while performing at a concert, The Weeknd makes a connection with a deranged audience member named Anima (Jenna Ortega). They retreat to a hotel to spend the night together. When fun time is over and he gets up to leave for his world tour, the abused young woman, from a prior relationship, holds him hostage until his manager (Barry Keoghan) arrives to free him.
Shults’ co-writers Reza Fahim and The Weeknd call this vanity project a thriller.
The Weeknd sings his “Blinding Lights” and “Gasoline” songs, tunes I found shallow.
The film’s title is derived from The Weeknd’s new song, “Hurry Up Tomorrow.”
REVIEWED ON 5/23/2025 GRADE: C
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