Ben Atkinson
“We may be born lost, but now you are found.”
This line, uttered by the mononymous protagonist of 2020’s Palm Springs, Nyles, is what initially made me think the film might be something special. I adore Andy Samberg’s delivery, Cristin Miloti’s intrigued reaction, the fact it establishes a main theme whilst making perfect sense in the context of a wedding speech, and the clever ways it is subverted.
*Spoilers for Palm Springs (2020) ahead!*
Of course, if you’ve watched the film, you know that Nyles (Andy Samberg) goes on to immediately take the line back, instead claiming ‘we’re all ****ing alone’ when Cristin Miloti’s Sarah asks if it was genuine, leaving the audience no doubt about his view on things. This is a particularly interesting dialogue considering the film’s mid-Covid release (10 July 2020), where, in a literal sense, a lot of us were alone and perhaps struggling to find meaning in our everyday lives. During that summer lockdown, it might’ve felt like we were reliving the same day over and over again, much like Nyles and Sarah in Palm Springs (2020) because – spoiler alert – it’s ‘one of those infinite time-loop situations you might’ve heard about.’
Palm Springs does something entirely different with the concept
To briefly summarise the plot, it’s about three characters re-living the same wedding: Nyles, a nihilistic goof who has been stuck in the loop for years; Roy (played by J.K. Simmons), a vengeful brute who blames Nyles for being trapped in the loop; and Sarah, the dysfunctional sister-of-the-bride who enters the loop early in the film. Now, as with all media with this structure, it’s difficult not to compare with the undisputed king of time-loop films, Groundhog Day (1993), but, in my view, Palm Springs does something entirely different with the concept.
For one, multiple people in the loop can lead to some of the most interesting interactions between characters. Specifically, at one point, Roy decides to accept his fate and give up on his quest for vengeance. Instead, he spends a happy day with his family, a decision that Nyles struggles to understand. Similarly, whilst also being extremely compelling in a romantic sense, the relationship between the co-leads – Nyles and Sarah – presents the audience with questions about being defined by your past, searching for meaning, and the important but not all-important power of love. One of Nyle’s final lines in the film is ‘I’d rather die with you, than live in this world without you’, a mirror to the initial line I quoted in this article, but this time it’s meant genuinely. Somehow, over the course of the 90-minute runtime, his perspective on human connection has reversed. He was lost, and now he is found. How?
I think he was ‘found’ when he finally accepted that him ‘being lost’ didn’t matter
In truth, the lesson that Palm Springs might leave you with isn’t about love, even though that seems to be what Nyles learns through the course of the film. While he may claim to just be trying to ‘suffer existence’ at the beginning of the film, it’s clear he doesn’t view it as totally meaningless. Buried under his nihilism is the persisting idea that resides in all people, even those stuck in an infinite time loop, and that defies a tangible explanation. In his words, ‘what we do to other people matters’. Even if it has no consequences, killing or hurting someone matters, and even if it won’t truly give your life the meaning you’re searching for, loving someone matters too. This message was an important one in the climate of 2020, during a global pandemic, as both a reminder that life can always have purpose (even while stuck inside all day) and that we have an inherent responsibility to our fellow humans.
I don’t think Nyles was ‘found’ when he fell in love with Sarah: I think he was ‘found’ when he finally accepted that him ‘being lost’ didn’t matter. From that came a desire to experience existence rather than suffer from it, and a love that was grounded and true.
Palm Springs’ themes still apply nowadays, and we should all seek to live every day like a gift. But even if you don’t want to read deeply into the message, the philosophical disagreements between Sarah and Niles only make their relationship that much more compelling. Their chemistry is excellent, the dialogue can smoothly switch between quippy and heartfelt, and the development of their bond is shockingly well-paced. The film is both hilarious and introspective, but the romance at its core is what, for me, elevates it to the level of an instant classic.
Ben Atkinson
Featured image courtesy of Cody Board via Unsplash. Image use license found here . Image was cropped to size.
In-article photos courtesy of @hulu via Instagram. No changes were made to these photos.
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