What Tomorrow Brings

by Rachel Willis

After her mother leaves, Clara is forced to take care of her little sister in director Matt Englebert’s feature, What Tomorrow Brings.

Clara (Joely Englebert, who is also credited as a writer) is used to caring for Ruby (Phoebe Englebert, another co-writer). Even before her mother left, Clara’s dying father charged her with putting Ruby first, telling Clara her mother “wasn’t as strong” as Clara. Though Clara has fond memories of her father, the parent in me cringed to watch him put that burden on her.

The film’s present-day story is framed by voice-over narration in the form of Clara’s diary entries. Through these, we’re told rather than shown how she feels while shouldering the weight of caring for her sister alone.

The movie has some genuinely touching moments, but too often, those moments flounder under the weight of unnatural dialogue. The young actors struggle delivering such artificial lines.

The film’s tender heart and moments of true emotion manage to sparkle through the rough dialogue and some bizarre turns. This is due in part to the strength of the film’s youngest actor, Phoebe. She excels throughout, crafting Ruby as the film’s most believable character. Ruby’s moments of fear, heartbreak and joy are when the film’s emotion truly shines.

Though Clara anchors the film as its center, Joely never quite conveys the depth of anxiety the character feels. Nor is she quite able to show us how deeply she cares for her sister (despite their real-life relationship).

Directing, Matt glosses over the sisters’ hardships in favor of several montages that try to draw us into their sisterly bond. It doesn’t work.

Unfortunately, What Tomorrow Brings shies away from anything too intense or raw. This means that when the film reaches its climax, the turn feels unearned.

It’s too bad, because this is a movie that wants you to focus on hope, found family, and faith. Those are worthy themes, but when they come too easily, they don’t hold any weight.