In the era of dating apps, many singles still fantasize about finding their forever partner in a Hollywood-worthy meet cute that they can recount to their grandchildren someday. While it’s a lot easier to secure a date for the evening with a few swipes through your app of choice, the thought of locking eyes with a handsome face from across the bar or striking up a conversation with someone in a coffee shop is much more glamorous. In Step Back, Doors Closing, a modern romance film currently in the middle of a festival run, writer/director Carter Ward takes the popular fantasy of happenstance romance and places it into a distinctly Gen Z setting, disrupting the idea that the only way for young people to meet today is through the apps. With this film, Carter seeks to adapt the 24-hour romance concept (most commonly associated with Richard Linklater’s 1995 classic, Before Sunrise) for the age of cell phones, ride-shares, and climate change-fueled existential dread, all while capturing the timeless charm of a classic romance story.
L-R: Carmen Berkeley as Julisa and Reilly Walters as Ryan in STEP BACK, DOORS CLOSING. Photo courtesy of Arden Pictures.
The subjects of this romantic fantasy are Julisa (Carmen Berkeley), a graduate student traveling to Washington DC for a women’s conference, and Ryan (Reilly Walters), a heartbroken young man trying to hold himself together as he navigates some serious life changes. Their story begins with an event that’s rather fitting for a digital-age narrative: the dreaded death of a cell phone. Julisa’s phone stops working after she drops it in an airport toilet upon her arrival in DC, leaving her completely stranded with no means of contacting the friend she’s supposed to stay with (because, of course, no young person today would waste time memorizing an address or phone number when we have everything we need saved on our phones. While it’s a necessary plot point to get the story going, it’s also a scary reminder of how dependent we are on those little things). With no clear plan for locating her friend or securing a safe place to stay for the night, Julisa hops on the Metro, where Ryan notices her struggling with her water-logged phone. Their coincidental meeting leads to a whirlwind 24-hour romance that traverses the emotional landscape of a much longer relationship, covering everything from the charming “getting to know you” stage to the first fight and even the pangs of romantic jealousy. In the emotional rollercoaster of their one day together, Julisa and Ryan turn out to be exactly what the other needed.
L-R: Reilly Walters as Ryan and Carmen Berkeley as Julisa in STEP BACK, DOORS CLOSING. Photo courtesy of Arden Pictures.
In real life, purely coincidental meet-cutes are rare. Therefore, it’s got to be difficult to write one into a story in a way that feels natural and plausible. Julisa and Ryan’s happenstance meeting via the death of a cell phone is a clever narrative idea, and it might feel refreshing to those looking for an escape from the reality of Gen Z and millennial dating culture. However, it’s likely to provoke some skeptical eyebrow raises from the audience for a few reasons. Everything about their meeting feels calculated and forced, from the way that Julisa “accidentally” drops her secondary lifeline, an iPad, onto the airport floor, resulting in a cracked screen that somehow renders the entire device useless, to the fact that Ryan offers to help a complete stranger with a dead phone. It’s not that 20-somethings like Ryan are unfriendly, but we are conditioned to mind our own business (especially while taking public transportation in a big city). It would have made sense for Ryan to help Julisa if she was struggling with a heavy suitcase or when she dropped her iPad at the airport, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a young person who offers help to a stranger just because they have a frustrated look on their face while staring at a phone. Ryan’s unlikely act of kindness is followed by Julisa’s even more unlikely move of accepting help from a stranger, a risky step for a woman in a new city (has she never listened to a true crime podcast?) Then again, agreeing to a tour of DC from a complete stranger isn’t that different from agreeing to meet up with someone you met on an app for a date. The idea that sets their story in motion is fresh and exciting, but the execution isn’t quite up to par.
Michelle Macedo as Julisa’s friend Sierra in STEP BACK, DOORS CLOSING. Photo courtesy of Arden Pictures.
The first act of the film is a strange marriage of sitcom sentimentality in a feature-film template, resulting in painfully cringeworthy moments and an uneven tone. Julisa and Ryan’s forced meet cute launches a series of awkward scenarios and a shaky plot that takes a while to find its footing. The two lovers spend their first hour or so together wandering around DC looking for a place to store their luggage, which leads to a rather funny miscommunication in an ultra-fancy hotel. Overall, however, the chemistry and pacing during this first act just don’t land. In terms of the script and performances, the effort to make something happen between Ryan and Julisa is entirely too visible. You’d expect some hesitation from the two lead characters as they navigate their spontaneous evening with a stranger, but they jump into cutesy romantic conversations and vulnerable moments far too soon. Without a genuine connection developing between the two characters, these meandering early scenes drag on for what seems like forever.
Perhaps it is because Julisa and Ryan’s chemistry is so initially forced that it ends up coming across more like a super awkward first date (awkward in a bad way) than a random encounter between strangers. Their first few hours together feel like one of those dates that comes at the height of a romantic dry spell where you want so badly for there to be a spark that you kind of force it to happen. Whether intentional or not, in the midst of its forced romantic dialogue and unrefined plot, Step Back, Doors Closing brings to life the awkwardness and pressure of trying to find something real. The initial charm of Ryan and Julisa’s meeting butts heads with their mutual anxiety about figuring out their lives and finding love that will actually last, resulting in a mixed bag of genuine romance and corny sentimentality.
Mershad Torabi as Mohammad, a rideshare driver, in STEP BACK, DOORS CLOSING. Photo courtesy of Arden Pictures.
After finding a place to store their luggage and locating Julisa’s friend, Ryan and Julisa are faced with the reality that their time together is about to end – and they realize that they don’t want it to. As the two lead characters come to the unspoken mutual realization that this random encounter is now actually kind of a date, the movie finally begins to find its groove. In the second act, the cringe awkwardness between Ryan and Julisa morphs into cutesy awkwardness and actual chemistry, and their conversations begin to feel more natural and genuine. As the two lead characters swap flirtatious jokes and hints of a hookup to come, Step Back, Doors Closing effectively captures the butterflies of a first date and the rushes of excitement that lead up to the first kiss. The remainder of the film is a mixed bag of genuinely charming romantic moments and more of the forced emotions from the first act – like when Julisa gets jealous because Ryan seems to be checking out another girl (after knowing him for less than a day).
One of the most obvious messages of Step Back, Doors Closing is that you can miss a lot that life has to offer when you’re constantly glued to your phone. Julisa and Ryan only meet because Julisa’s phone dies, which prompts us to ask ourselves if we’re missing out on genuine human connection because we’re all so tied to our phones. In one sense, Step Back, Doors Closing glorifies the idea of happenstance romantic encounters, suggesting that if we just look up from our little screens for a minute, we might lock eyes with the one we’ve been searching for on the apps. And yet, as Julisa and Ryan’s spontaneous adventure unfolds, Step Back, Doors Closing draws attention to the similarities between coincidental 24-hour romances and dating app culture. Like every Hinge or Bumble relationship, Julisa and Ryan start out as two strangers who each find something intriguing in the other and decide to take a risk by spending time together. While their initial encounter isn’t explicitly romantic, they go through the same motions as any couple that meets on an app: awkward ice-breaker conversations, flirtation, and the exchange of vulnerabilities, all while tension builds around the question of whether or not they’ll hook up. The latter section of the movie even jumps ahead to the jealousy and fights that come later on in relationships. Perhaps, then, the message of Step Back, Doors Closing isn’t about how you make connections, but about what you do with the time you’re given in each relationship.
L-R: Reilly Walters as Ryan and Carmen Berkeley as Julisa in STEP BACK, DOORS CLOSING. Photo courtesy of Arden Pictures.
For all the cringe and corny moments in Step Back, Doors Closing, it does leave you with a sense of hope and wholeness. While the story isn’t as smooth or nuanced as it could have been, it does have something unique and refreshing to offer to the romance genre. It infuses a traditional romance story with themes of self-discovery, showing us that dating is about so much more than finding “the one.” It highlights the purpose and meaning behind every relationship, whether forged in the fires of Tinder or fanned into flame by chance on the DC Metro. It celebrates the joy of being young and having seemingly endless possibilities ahead, reminding us that we each have the power to create our own “luck” simply by making the most of what’s in front of us.
Screening during the Omaha Film Festival 2025.
For more information, head to the official Step Back, Doors Closing website.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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