Taglines: One day. Infinite possibilities.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things follows a teenager contentedly living the same day in an endless loop who gets his world turned upside-down when he meets a girl who’s also stuck in the time warp. What follows is a love story with a fantastical twist, as the two struggle to figure out how and whether to escape their never ending day.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things is a 2021 American science fiction romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ian Samuels, from a screenplay by Lev Grossman, based upon his short story of the same name. It stars Kathryn Newton and Kyle Allen as Margaret and Mark, two teenagers stuck in a time loop where they are forced to repeat the same day. The film was released through Amazon Prime Video on February 12, 2021.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77% based on 66 critic reviews, with an average of 6.4/10. The website’s critics consensus states, “Its characters’ time-loop journey is a little bumpy and fairly familiar, but heartfelt charm and likeable leads make A Map of Tiny Perfect Things worth following.” On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 16 critic reviews, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.
About the Story
Mark, a teenage boy, has been stuck in a time loop, repeating the same day over and over again. After having been stuck in the loop for thousands of days Mark has perfected several routines and is able to harmlessly aid other people by anticipating their movements. Developing a crush on a girl he gives directions to, Mark goes to the community pool to meet her again, saving the girl from being knocked into the pool by a beach ball. However his efforts to spend more time with her are constantly frustrated. One day, while waiting to save the girl from being hit with a beach ball, another girl named Margaret unexpectedly intervenes. Mark tracks her down and discovers that she is also living in the same time loop.
Mark and Margaret spend time together. Mark tells her about his dad quitting his job to write a book on the Civil War. She talks about her dream of working as a mission specialist for NASA, and how she has been looking for a missing dog. They become close, although Mark is more free spirited than Margaret who is incredibly risk averse. Every night she hurries off after receiving a text from a medical student named Jared.
Mark and Margaret decide to look for moments they consider perfect in their city, thinking they might escape the time loop after finding all of them. Mark creates a mock-up of the moon landing in the gym for Margaret. Later, they go to his room, where she sees his map of the perfect moments. Mark leans in to kiss her, but she tilts her head down saying she doesn’t want to be more than friends. It’s clear there’s something on Margaret’s mind yet she’s not prepared to discuss it.
The next day, when his dad comes to talk to him about his future, Mark yells at him about being hypocritical for chasing his own dreams while thwarting Mark’s. After talking to his sister Emma, Mark learns their dad didn’t quit, but was fired and was too proud to admit it. Mark suggests they might be able to break the loop if they go far away. They buy tickets to Tokyo, but Margaret leaves the plane before takeoff and tells him by text that she can’t do it. When the plane hits the International Date Line, Mark wakes up in his bedroom, realizing the plan didn’t work.
Mark decides to focus on others in the next loop. He runs to his mom’s car to hug her before she leaves and attends Emma’s soccer game, where she scores a goal, diverging from the normal loop, where her team repeatedly loses 3–0. While performing a skateboarding trick, Mark injures himself and gets a cast on his arm. At the hospital, he sees Margaret and learns that her mother is dying of cancer. Mark realizes that he isn’t the center of this story, but rather Margaret is.
Margaret wakes up and manages to find Chewbarka, the lost dog she has been searching for. She then has a conversation with Mark’s friend Henry, whom Mark has repeatedly confided in about the time loop. When she sees Mark’s map of the tiny perfect things, she is hit with an epiphany. She creates a three dimensional model of the times and places of these events using string. The shadow cast by the model creates an image of a four-dimensional cube, with a single piece missing. She determines that the final event will occur at 7:00 PM at the pool.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things(2021)
Directed by: Ian Samuels
Starring: Kathryn Newton, Kyle Allen, Jermaine Harris, Anna Mikami, Josh Hamilton, Cleo Fraser, Jorja Fox, Al Madrigal, Vanessa Padla, Jorja Fox, Teance Blackburn, Mia Lovell, Yoriko Haraguchi
Screenplay by: Lev Grossman
Production Design by: Kara Lindstrom
Cinematography by: Andrew Wehde
Film Editing by: Andrea Bottigliero
Costume Design by: Abby O’Sullivan
Set Decoration by: Javed Noorullah
Art Direction by: Elizabeth Boller
Music by: Tom Bromley
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language, some teen drinking and sexual references.
Distributed by: Amazon Studios
Release Date: February 12, 2021
Visits: 42
