When you have two goals for a movie, sometimes it doesn’t work out well, and sometimes it does.
Trans filmmaker Mia Moore Marchant (The People’s Joker) wants to make films with trans characters where the transition isn’t the entire plot of the film; where trans characters go through stories as people caught up in figuring things out like everyone else. In Again Again they accomplish this with a story of what happens after a ten-year time loop ends.
On the surface, Again Again is a fairly typical low-budget movie about characters dealing with life in small-town Washington with infighting and a desire to run away conflicting with family and friend goals.
On top of that you have a time loop that Agatha, the main character played by Mia Moore Marchant, has been trapped in for 10 years, reliving the same day that led to a horrible event. And then the time loop ends. Agatha has no idea why and must deal with the real world where actions have consequences.
In a sub-genre of time-loop movies – Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow (Live, Die, Repeat), Happy Death Day – Again Again tries to answer the question of what happens after the loop is broken. Also, among time-loop movies the time loop usually has some dire consequences for the protagonist, like death. Groundhog Day and Again Again are exceptions to this trend with Again Again leaning into the romance between Agatha and their childhood friend and partner Tessa, played by Australian singer-songwriter, and actor Aria Taylor.
Some elements of the romance call back to films like “The Graduate” or “Say Anything” as Agatha interrupts Tessa’s wedding and they run off to escape small town Washington. But a time-loop interrupts the escape, and Agatha is caught for ten years having the same conversations and experimenting with choices that have no consequences. When all of that ends Agatha is at loose ends and barely able to believe it’s over.
The story develops where you learn more about the time loop, what caused it, and why. This complicates things for Agatha and Tessa and forces both of them to re-evaluate the relationship and where it should go. Tessa has had one day pass while Agatha has been grinding through ten years of being trapped. The life they were running from creeps back into their relationship and both characters have to face some hard questions about growing up, being different, and how to move forward and if that will be with each other.
The film has a low budget, first feature feel but may still get more attention due to Lilly Wachowski (Matrix, Speed Racer) being an Executive Producer. Overall, it is not a bad film. But if the science fiction aspect of the film sets an expectation for action this may not be the film for you. Again Again is very contemplative and leans more into the romantic issues of two small-town misfits trying to figure out how to move forward.
Rating: 7/10
Again Again had its World Premiere at the 2026 SIFF
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Produced by Cliff Noonan, Mia Moore Marchant, Lilly Wachowski
Written by Mia Moore Marchant
Directed by Mia Moore Marchant, Heather Ballish
Starring Mia Moore Marchant, Aria Taylor,
Abigail Thorn, Nicole Spacek, Jon Meggison
