#InsideOut2023 Review: Before I Change My Mind

By John Corrado

★★½ (out of 4)

The 2023 Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival runs from May 25th to June 4th in Toronto, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.

Set in 1987, Before I Change My Mind follows Robin (Vaughan Murrae) a gender non-conforming kid who has moved to Alberta from Spokane, Washington with their single dad (Matthew Rankin). Robin is instantly the odd one out at their new school, with other kids at first trying to figure out if they are even a boy or a girl. But Robin starts to feel an odd kinship with school bully Carter (Dominic Lippa), and tries to befriend him, which is complicated by Izzy (Lacey Oake), the girl who comes between them.

The feature debut of writer-director Trevor Anderson, who co-wrote the script with Fish Griwkowsky, Before I Change My Mind mainly works due to the film’s unabashedly ‘80s vibes. We get cutaways to home video footage and a fun throwback soundtrack. There’s also a very amusing running gag involving the staging of a musical about Mary Magdalene because the local theatre couldn’t get the rights to Jesus Christ Superstar, with Anderson stealing scenes in a supporting role as the flamboyant musical director.

Through the somewhat volatile friendship that develops between Robin and Carter, the film explores themes of bullying and internalized homophobia. That said, Anderson also struggles to stick the film’s landing at the end, with a last act pivot that doesn’t really work; the film tries to go dark, but doesn’t sell the tonal shift in a way that necessarily feels believable. It ends up feeling a bit too over the top (perhaps meant as camp) instead of probing as deep as it could have. But there are enough positives to outweigh the negatives.

If the film is a bit scrappy and cheesy at times, it also has a sort of charm to it, and works best as a kinda shaggy hangout movie about a misfit kid befriending the school bully, including a formative field trip to the West Edmonton Mall. Murrae, a non-binary actor, carries the film with a charming performance, taking us through a number of comedic and dramatic beats. Despite its flaws, this is a frequently entertaining little film that captures enough of a fun ‘80s aesthetic to keep it enjoyable.