‘When I Live My Life Over Again’ Tribeca Film Festival Review: Amber Heard And Christopher Walken Can’t Hit The Right Notes

In “When I Live My Life Over Again,” Amber Heard plays a wayward young adult named Jude, who's struggling to find her footing in the music industry once dominated by her crooner father, Paul. The older singer is trying to stage a comeback while his daughter drifts in uncertainty and self-destructive behavior. What do you mean nepotism doesn’t always work out?

In a strikingly similar “once famous singer struggles to reconnect with his kids” plot to this year’s earlier (and far more superior) “Danny Collins,” Walken plays a character unlike that of Al Pacino’s Collins. Pacino’s character is sympathetic; desperately trying to make amends in what he feels may be his final days. Walken’s Paul is more of a “my way or the highway” type who’s more likely to throw advice ahead of being asked for his take. He jokes that his kids should appreciate him more because he’s going to die soon, but makes little to no effort to reach out to them.

Which means the audience’s empathy is supposed to rest squarely on Jude’s shoulders. She seems to be going through the “Inside Llewyn Davis” stage of her unstable music career, although the troubled spoiled millennial is quickly becoming a tired trope in film and TV. Amber Heard is talented enough to share a few heartfelt moments in a character that mostly operates on the defensive. Crashing back at her father’s place is the last thing she wants because it confronts her about her destructive lifestyle, which includes an affair with her married analyst.

Jude is a touch more affable than Walken’s character, but neither seem to do exceptionally well in the musical department. Heard's straining folk songs fare only slightly better than Walken’s sputtered standards. Young director Robert Edwards (“Land of the Blind”) meanders too much in Jude’s malaise for there to be a life-changing urgency in either of their stories, and the movie’s plodding pace reflects that. By the time Jude settles on a decision, the ending feels like a compromise more than anything revelatory.

“When I Live My Life Over Again” has a few screenings remaining at the Tribeca Film Festival, which runs through April 26.