One More Time (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Ending, Explained: One More Time is a Swedish movie currently streaming on Netflix. The film is about a 40-year-old woman, Amelia, who feels lost in her life. Her only wish is to be 18 again, the age she was popular, had plenty of friends and was the “it” girl of her small town. When the wish comes true, and she cannot come out, Amelia must recontextualize her predicament and make things right. Hedda Stiernstedt stars in the central role of Amelia, while Miriam Ingrid has a major supporting role. Like most time loop movies, One More Time deals with meaningful themes like friendship and how our true calling can hide in plain sight in life.
The focus in this Swedish film is not so much on how Athmelia gets stuck in a time loop or how she gets out. Even she realizes that when she finds out what happened to her. One More Time focuses more on how our lives can get stuck in a phase that we are too afraid to come out of. Perhaps we do not know how, or there might be other challenges that are unique to us, and we have to deal with them alone. This explainer about the new Netflix film is not a problem-solver but an attempt to bring to the surface the complex issues Amelia faced and how she got over them.
One More Time (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Synopsis & Plot Summary:
It is Amelia’s 40th birthday. She works as a store manager in the local clothing store and hates her life. Her boss lets her go from work, and she celebrates it alone in a bar. She reminisces about how lavishly she celebrated her 18th birthday with the bartender, Arez. Amelia was the “it” girl of the town and was always surrounded by people. One of her oldest friends, Fiona, shows up at the bar. It turns out that they were formerly best friends but have been estranged for a long time. They also shared the same birthday and used to call each other “star sisters.”
Fiona acknowledges her, but that is where their interaction ends. Amelia visits the site where she and Fiona buried a time capsule. It is a small box that houses their wishes from their childhood about what they want when they turn 18. Hers was to “be cool” when she turned 18. As she tries to open up Fiona’s, the wind blows it away. Before she can open it, a truck hits her, and she falls unconscious. When she wakes up, Amelia wakes up in the body of her 18-year-old self.
Initially, she thinks her wish is granted and makes the most of her time back. But soon, she realizes that will be her reality if she does not figure out why she has been stuck in that loop. Amelia prods around her old memories and tries to go over everything. She even tries to be a good person, which does not work. The rest of the movie shows Amelia trying different things to get back to her reality and understand what went wrong for her in the past.
One More Time (2023) Movie Ending, Explained:
What does Amelia realize about being stuck in time?
One link from the past that Amelia is not quite able to figure out is Fiona. She has no exact details of how they grew apart. Moa, her best friend when Amelia was 18, and Max, her boyfriend, seem to be her world at the time. She spends most of the days with them after school and lives to enjoy each moment. Even when she discovers that she is stuck in a time loop, Amelia feels she has to correct something with Max and Moa. When that does not work, Amelia turns her attention toward Fiona, who is the only other person in her life she feels the need to get back.
Fiona does not reciprocate her feelings since Amelia neglected her during their sophomore year in school. She always felt that Amelia saw her as not “good enough” for her. And that is when it strikes Amelia – this is why she is back. Before arriving at that conclusion, she vies to find a way out by watching classics like Groundhog Day but does not get tangible clues. She experiences everything an 18-year-old can possibly think of in her various iterations.
On that day, Fiona was set to perform an acoustic song for the entire school. But every time, the students chose to leave the auditorium when Fiona got onto the stage. It had something to do with the dramatics club and how they disliked them. But when Amelia finally realizes that she was stuck in time because she never got the chance to move on from Fiona and could not rediscover their precious friendship, she stands up for her.
She takes the mic and demands everyone sit back. Fiona gives a wonderful, soul-touching performance, bringing a semblance of their friendship back. Amelia is desperate to find out what was written in Fiona’s wish to understand what went wrong with them.
What was Fiona’s wish in the time capsule?
In one of the iterations, she confronts Fiona about the time capsule. She is very uncomfortable and beseeches Amelia not to open it. Amelia goes to the site anyway and is about to open the box when Fiona arrives there. Amelia reads her wish and is shocked. Fiona wanted Amelia to fall in love with her when she was 18, indicating she has been in love with Amelia all her life. Amelia is left speechless and cannot answer Fiona back.
It is an awkward moment that will make anyone nervous and itchy. Fiona takes the note from her and runs away. Amelia gives chase and is hit by a truck in the same fashion as she was hit in the present day. This turns out to be the last iteration in the time loop for Amelia, who is then sent back to her reality.
Is Fiona really dead?
Miraculously, it turns out that Fiona has survived the crash. She has minor scratches on her, but she will be alright. When she sees the driver, she discovers that it is none other than Max. He walks out in his usual style, and they greet each other. In one of the time iterations, Amelia discovered the truth about her friends Moa and Max. They actually did not like Amelia and thought that she could not handle so much attention because she was “ugly in middle school” and suddenly became beautiful when she became a senior. Amelia requests Max to take her to Fiona’s birthday party.
Once there, she tries to confront Fiona but sees from a distance that she has a family. Amelia chooses not to pursue her and chaotically takes an exit, something that Fiona notices. She goes back to her boss at the clothing store, who comforts her and says Amelia can join back from Monday. Amelia chooses to spend her birthday with her old parents, knowing she took them for granted when she was young. They are as warm as they were all those years ago and even sing “happy birthday” for Amelia.
Amelia sits atop the hill, and Fiona unexpectedly joins her. They discuss their lives and their feelings about each other. Both realize that they want to be in each other’s lives not exactly sure in what capacity.
What is One More Time About?
One More Time, on Netflix, definitely leaves a lot to the imagination. It is very scarce in detail and, for some reason, is not able to articulate itself clearly to the viewer. However, some major themes emerge by the end. Amelia is an example of the mean, popular girl in high school who is a shitty person and too disillusioned with their popularity status. More generally, she represents the longing to go back in time and experience life differently. The choices we make might not be the most suitable ones at the time. But that is alright because we have no idea how that will turn out without actually making a choice.
Another interpretation of the film is a little far-fetched. But it can potentially represent a closeted homosexual who never had the feeling of love towards the same sex. When Amelia looks at Fiona for the last time, there is a sense of hesitation right before she says she only wants to be friends. This can potentially mean that she reciprocates Fiona’s feelings and loves her back. We wish the makers provided more clarity with that and supplied more attention to the themes in One More Time.
Read More: Still Time (Era Ora, 2023) Movie Ending, Explained
Watch the trailer here:
One More Time (2023) Netflix Movie Links – IMDb
One More Time (2023) Netflix Movie Cast – Hedda Stiernstedt, Evelyn Mok, Vanna Rosenberg
Where to watch One More Time
