Timur Bekmambetov to direct The Day Before?

17 February 2009

Gerard Wood

Warner Bros. has picked up an intriguing SF-action spec script by previously unproduced writer Chad St.John. In The Day Before , aliens invade Earth by travelling backwards through time and wiping out humanity one yesterday at a time. The hero attempts to stay one yesterday ahead of the invaders, each new day trying to convince humanity that the end is nigh, and presumably that it's necessary to make a stand against the invaders.

While it’s very early days for this project, several names have been mentioned in relation to it. Gianni Nunnari (300, War of the Gods ) is said to be producing, Timur Bekmambetov (Nightwatch , Daywatch , Wanted ) is apparently in negotiations to helm the project, and Robert Downey Jr. and Reese Witherspoon are said to be in talks to star. If it's true that Bekmambetov is to direct, it may be some time before this movie sees the light of day as he has a number of films in the works, including Moby Dick and a sequel to Wanted .

When dealing with time-travel the challenge is keeping confusion at bay. Or at least it should be if it’s handled intelligently! Which is why I’m not really convinced that Bekmambetov is the best choice for this story. As much as I enjoyed Wanted (and greatly look forward to its sequel), Bekmambetov is at his best capturing visceral action – the look of his films is genuinely stunning – not story telling. There was so much scope to Daywatch’s mythology and story and yet Bekmambetov failed entirely to realise this potential; well before we reach the end, the movie is irredeemably confused. And as entertaining as Wanted is, what it is is little more than a string of superb action set pieces strung together beautifully.

Still, I am intrigued by The Day Before , although almost as much by the questions left unanswered as the premise. Why, for instance, do the time-travelling aliens laboriously invade one yesterday at a time rather than getting it all over by popping, say, 100,00 years into our past and nobbling humanity before we really get started? And how does the hero’s attempt to convince us of our impending doom actually place us in a position to counter the sneaky time-travelling invaders? And why do I keep picturing Bill Murray and a certain North American groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil?

I guess time will tell.