'Step Back, Doors Closing' Review
Release Date: 03/17/26 [VOD]
Genre: Comedy. Drama.
MPAA: Not Rated.
Distributor: Freestyle Releasing.
The Verdict: A Maybe
In a world constantly consumed by “what ifs” and “maybes” what is another romantic film going to add? Amid wars, fear of artificial intelligence, and a planet weighed down by the greed of those in power, getting immersed in a good romance sounds like a myth. How would one separate from a violent world to get fully absorbed by a non-violent film?
That’s what Step Back, Doors Closing is attempting. Writer/Director Carter Ward’s romantic feature doesn’t try to take a deep dive into the souls of its romantic leads, à la Celine Song’s Past Lives, or even along the lines of a very promising cross-cultural romance, One Night in Tokyo, directed by Joshua Woodcock.
Unfortunately, the film starts with the “clumsy” allegations that every rom-com female protagonist should suffer from. Since it’s not the ‘90s or early 00s, it’s weird seeing a young woman in a modern movie tripping and falling in the Hillary Duff and Meg Ryan style. It feels out of place with our modern world, but it doesn’t make us love Julisa (Carmen Berkley) less. She meets Ryan (Reilly Walters) in a chance encounter on the metro, sparks fly, and they bond and spend the entire day together.
Like many rom-coms before it, there are pros and cons to this one. First, picking DC as the location is a very smart move by Ward. Not only is it a refreshing city to explore, especially romance-wise, but also its geography is perfect for a love story to unfold. The director doesn’t shy away from them having sex, which, in a smaller movie like this, is a bold move, especially in a sanitized, rom-com landscape, especially for mainstream movies.
Walters is excellent as Ryan; he nails his laid-back style, right down to the headset he wears around his neck. It’s not Berkley’s fault that Julisa is somehow underwhelming, but this can be the case with many female characters, especially ones written by men. It seems that the awkward, slightly neurotic, quirky feminine persona is easier to imagine as a woman; the result is both tiresome and cliched, like a stereotype of a woman that only exists in men’s psyche, but on the real ground, she’s not as manufactured as the one witnessed on screen. Still, the two leads carry the film on both their shoulders. Without their chemistry, not even the best writer/director could make this work.
In a world consumed by technology taking over romantic stories, with screenlife adaptations dominating lonely fictional people searching for true romance, Step Back, Doors Closing is throwing this all away, choosing to make its leads connect on a chance encounter, technology-less, just like the good old days. It may offer nothing particularly new to the genre, but it remains an enjoyable and thoroughly entertaining watch.
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