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The Never List

Play trailer 1:30 Poster for The Never List R Released Dec 11, 2020 1h 42m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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60% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 100% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
16-year old Eva (Fivel Stewart) is as overachieving as they come. Running for student class president while juggling a heavy academic schedule and planning the upcoming school dance, Eva dreams of becoming a comic book artist – something she knows her helicopter mom would never support. Since elementary school, Eva and her BFF Liz (Brenna D’Amico) have cosplayed their alter-egos, “Vicky” and “Veronica,” as a way to release the pressure they feel. Together, they imagine Vicky and Veronica doing highly questionable, even illegal, acts that the real Eva and Liz would never do... acts they document in “The Never List.” When Liz dies in a tragic accident, Eva is filled with anger and regret thinking about all the things Liz never did out of fear of risking her future… a future she ultimately would never have. Eva decides the best way to honor her best friend’s memory is to complete The Never List. At first this journey leads her to romance and adventure, but as the list progresses, her actions begin threatening the very foundations of her carefully planned teenage life and even her own future.
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The Never List

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Cary Darling Houston Chronicle Houston director Michelle Mower, working from a script by Ariadne Shaffer, has made a sweetly serious film about friendship, trauma and not letting yourself get lost. Rated: 3/5 Dec 18, 2020 Full Review Barbara Shulgasser Common Sense Media While Fivel Stewart is a compelling performer, even she cannot inject sense into the insensible. Rated: 2/5 Apr 28, 2021 Full Review Liam Trump Film Threat The Never List is one of the least inspired films to ever tackle the coming-of-age subgenre. Rated: 2/10 Mar 28, 2021 Full Review Louisa Moore Screen Zealots This unconventional coming-of-age story features a female-driven narrative and strong young women characters that will speak to teens worldwide. Rated: 3 / 5 Feb 17, 2021 Full Review Dan Lybarger Arkansas Democrat-Gazette What keeps The Never List from being a shallow diversion is that [the filmmakers] consistently acknowledge that the chemical recreation the two fictional girls engage in sometimes has catastrophic consequences in the real world. Rated: 83/100 Dec 11, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Well Worth seeing more than once. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Teen melodrama often has been an effective cinematic metaphor for the human condition. When it's done well – with pathos and wit – it can be transcendent: Clueless; Easy A; Booksmart; The Edge of Seventeen; Mean Girls; The Fault In Our Stars; Saved!; Love, Simon. There's now one more to add to that auspicious collection of films: The Never List. Deftly directed by Michelle Mower, from Ariadne Shaffer's sensitive screenplay, The Never List details the challenges facing two tightly bonded childhood friends Liz (Brenna D'Amico) and Eva (Fivel Stewart) while navigating the slings and arrows of high school and what happens when tragedy befalls one of the pair. Stewart and D'Amico are compelling, luminous presences, and their dynamic as lifelong friends is as engaging as it is ultimately heartbreaking. One of the key differentiators in this film versus comparable efforts is how believably teen life is depicted: messy, ugly, tempestuous, deep-feeling, loving, and, yes, kind. There is no shortage of bullying in the film, but it is authentically portrayed, notably in the light it shines on quickly shifting sands of adolescence (re: who doles out vs. who is victimized by bullying) … sometimes in the span of just one afternoon! The conceit of the film is that Liz and Eva, both straight-A over-achievers, have created impish, ill-behaved alter egos named "Vicky and Veronica" whose "never list" includes all the bad deeds they'd like to perform in real life but just … can't. After the aforementioned tragedy, Eva, aided and abetted by neighborhood hooligans (with hearts of gold) Joey (Andrew Kai) and Taylor (Anna Grace Barlow), starts checking items off the list, spiraling to a point of no return that is at turns predictable and refreshingly dark. Mower avoids the satirical light touch of, say, Mean Girls or Clueless, that might bring safe harbor to an audience, instead embracing the avant garde notion😉 that, well, nasty deeds hurt people and have consequences. Crazy that! Stewart turns in a nuanced performance, projecting beautifully the inscrutable and mercurial ways of a grieving teen. Kai and Barlow offer a fresh take on the "bad influence" trope, revealing the sweetness at the core of the misunderstood and offering a nice redemption for those marginalized unfairly in the brutal gauntlet that is American high school. Mower has offered some fun "Easter eggs" in her casting as well for those who follow this genre. All of the aforementioned actors have cut their teeth in any number of Disney/CW/Netflix productions (e.g. The Descendants, Atypical, Supernatural), but the real surprises are Jonathan Bennett (AKA Mean Girls' Aaron Samuels) and Keiko Agena (AKA Gilmore Girls' Lane Kim) as, respectively, high school teacher Mr. Snyder and Eva's mother Jennifer. Bennett is a winsome presence, bringing brightness to his classroom scenes. Agena knocks it out of the park as Eva's anxious, beleaguered helicopter-parent, bringing the rapid-fire spark she always had as Rory Gilmore's bestie but with heartbreaking poignancy that only a few decades of real living can bring. Agena leaves it all on the field in her scenes and gives the film its emotional anchor, particularly in the film's final act. Matt Corboy (from George Clooney's – not Disney's – The Descendants) is a great foil for Agena as her husband and Eva's father, walking that fine line of sharing parental burdens while finding his own voice in the mix. Corboy and Agena have great chemistry, tracing realistically the trajectory of shared life through only a handful of scenes. In addition to the exceptional ensemble, Mower has great fun using Eva's pen and ink illustrations (she aspires to be a graphic novelist) to, literally, animate key moments in the film. Introduced about one-third of the way into The Never List, the cartoon versions of "Vicky and Veronica" offer silent commentary on the proceedings, adding some necessary comic relief without detracting from the film's gravitas. And the soundtrack is a pip too – angsty and poppy in all the right ways, consistent with the inner and outer lives of these rich characters. I do hope this challenging but fun, sweetly affirming film find its audience in these trying times. It's a keeper and worth seeking out. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member This film is a family friendly story reflecting many aspects of the "human condition". From its depiction of unexpected tragedy, to teenage angst, to the stress and difficulty of parenting teens during this period of life, there is something here for everyone. I don't watch movies just to see something, but to feel something, and this one did just that. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member I found this teenage drama to be extremely heart warming and relatable. It had me captivated, crying, and laughing from the beginning to end. I had the opportunity to watch it with my daughter and her friend and enjoyed our conversation on the way home comparing our high school experiences. I had never heard of these actors before and thought that they all did an excellent job. I'm hoping for a sequel so I can watch this cast together again. The theatre did an excellent job with social distancing protocol and we all felt totally safe. So nice to be back in a movie theatre and enjoy real movie theatre popcorn. I absolutely recommend seeing this movie! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member I very much enjoyed this movie! Great story, real to life. I liked the layer of humor over a serious subject. Actors were above par. I hope to see them on the screens again... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved the movie, have been back three times. The acting is fantastic, the story line is great its so funny, drama, romance and brings back memories of my teen years. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Never List

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Movie Info

Synopsis 16-year old Eva (Fivel Stewart) is as overachieving as they come. Running for student class president while juggling a heavy academic schedule and planning the upcoming school dance, Eva dreams of becoming a comic book artist – something she knows her helicopter mom would never support. Since elementary school, Eva and her BFF Liz (Brenna D’Amico) have cosplayed their alter-egos, “Vicky” and “Veronica,” as a way to release the pressure they feel. Together, they imagine Vicky and Veronica doing highly questionable, even illegal, acts that the real Eva and Liz would never do... acts they document in “The Never List.” When Liz dies in a tragic accident, Eva is filled with anger and regret thinking about all the things Liz never did out of fear of risking her future… a future she ultimately would never have. Eva decides the best way to honor her best friend’s memory is to complete The Never List. At first this journey leads her to romance and adventure, but as the list progresses, her actions begin threatening the very foundations of her carefully planned teenage life and even her own future.
Director
Michelle Mower
Producer
Anna Margarita Albelo
Screenwriter
Ariadne Shaffer
Distributor
Imagination Worldwide
Production Co
Never List Productions, Imagination Worldwide, Burning Bra Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 11, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 14, 2021
Runtime
1h 42m
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