Sometimes, when we are on the brink of madness, we just need one person to save us. A warm heart that recollects our shattered pieces together and gives us the will to live again. In the film “Long Weekend,” a stranger simply spends the weekend with a tired, depressed protagonist, eventually filling him with hope and a desire to live again. He shines again, brighter than ever. As it is rightly said, a little love can do wonders, and this is definitely a story about love.
‘Long Weekend’ Summary
Bart (Finn Wittrock) is a writer who is struggling to find the will to live. He is unmotivated, depressed, and penniless. To make ends meet, he takes a low-wage job in a medical facility. A writer of stories is given the assignment of writing a medical catalog. Poverty hits Bart hard, and he has to move to his friend Doug’s garage to manage a roof over his head.
Bart is going through hell, and for the time being, he accepts it as his reality. But his life takes a sharp turn when he meets a mysterious, sparkling girl named Vienna (Zoë Chao) in a movie theater. Her over-friendliness establishes an instant connection between them, but Bart is suspicious of the whole setup. Vienna is carrying a lot of loose cash in her purse. She is highly secretive about her identity and carries neither an ID card nor a cellphone. Vienna requests Bart not spoil the romance with his questions and keeps the flow going.
The next day, when Bart discusses Vienna with Doug, even his friend is stunned to hear that she doesn’t carry a cell phone in this modern world. Keeping aside all suspicions, Bart takes Vienna on a date, but when she pays all the bills and payments, Bart can’t stop his worries. Bart finally blares out.
Vienna reveals to him that she has come from the future and works for the NSA, a secret intelligence agency. Her purpose for the visit is to slightly alter the past for a better future. In the future, her mother has fallen severely ill, and she doesn’t have the money for her treatment. Hence, she has come to the past to invest in some stocks and put them in a safety box for her future self. She planned to execute her mission, but she met Bart, and like a magnet, they became attracted to each other.
Bart tries his best to find meaning in Vienna’s reasons, but they all sound vague to him, like a story from a movie. His friend Doug summarizes that this girl could result from his long-going depression and advises instant medical attention. The “Long Weekend” goes on to show how confused Bart is about whether or not to trust Vienna.
Major Spoilers Ahead
‘Long Weekend’ Ending Explained
For the time being, Bart trusted Vienna’s story about time travel. However, her constant emotional outbursts compel Bart to take her to a doctor. At the hospital, Bart starts bleeding through his nose and blacks out.
Later, we find Bart on a hospital bed with his head bandaged. Doug informs him about a tumor in his head that bursts in the hospital. Bart tries to inquire about Vienna. Doug hesitantly reveals to him that Vienna was just an imagination caused by the tumor in his brain. It is a normal condition, and even the doctor confirms it. Bart scrolls through his phone to find proof of her, but she is nowhere to be found. She has just disappeared without a trail.
Bart starts living his mundane life, working as a catalog writer and spending his home time in Doug’s garage. However, when he receives his first salary cheque, he visits an ATM to withdraw money. He finds out that his penniless account has 87,000 dollars. A similar amount that Vienna brought with her to invest in bonds He quickly runs to his car and discovers the key to the safe where Vienna deposited the bonds. He checks the safe and finds a picture of Vienna that he took in a photo booth together. There is also a note on the back that reveals that Vienna was real.
In the beginning, Vienna told Bart that she had come to invest money for her mother. But in reality, she went to the past from the future to save Bart. Doug considers it a miracle that Bart was at the hospital when his tumor exploded. If he had been at any other location, it would have been difficult to save him. Thus, it could be concluded that Vienna brought Bart to the hospital because she knew what would happen. She saved him, in a way.
Another fact supporting this theory is that Vienna came back to the past for her mother, and she talked about her father. Yet, she didn’t visit any of them during her stay. Her constant outburst was for Bart because she knew she had to go back soon. She couldn’t handle the separation. But, as Doug pointed out, “that girl came into your life for a reason,” and that reason was to save Bart’s life.
The film is short and subtle. It has derived many references from popular movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Back to the Future,” and others. The film has paid homage to them as well. The initial conversation between Bart and Vienna is filled with movie references and popular actors’ impressions. Without a moment of dullness, “Long Weekend” aims to bring new hope into its protagonist’s shedding life. Thematically, it explores the idea that a weekend could change your perspective on life, much like the film “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
While this feel-good film fails to exhibit the same impact as its predecessors, it is an endearing effort.
“Long Weekend” is a 2021 romantic science fiction film written and directed by Steve Basilone.
