SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING (2024) - Movie Review

Director: Rachel Lambert
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena, Marcia DeBonis, Megan Stalter
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Writer: Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, Katy Wright-Mead
Runtime: 94 min
Rated: PG-13 for thematic material, some language and brief drug material
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

This blog is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on my blog, I may earn an affiliate commission.

Synopsis:

Fran likes to think about dying. It brings sensation to her quiet life. When she makes the new guy at work laugh, it leads to more: a date, a slice of pie, a conversation, a spark. The only thing standing in their way is Fran herself.

Review:

Daisy Ridley got her start with Disney's "Star Wars" mega-franchise, but after starring in indie fare like "The Marsh King's Daughter", "Magpie" and "We Bury the Dead", I have grown increasingly impressed with her acting prowess. She has become a terrific actress and the minimalist indie drama "Sometimes I Think About Dying" is another great showcase of her dramatic abilities.

Co-written and directed by "In the Radiant City" filmmaker Rachel Lambert, the film is a character study that tells the story of Fran (Ridley), a painfully shy woman struggling with depression, who punctuates her dull daily life with morbid fantasies about dying. She's an introverted outsider who avoids small talk like the plague and hides away in her cubicle hoping to avoid any and all human contact and connection. When a new co-worker takes an interest in her, it seems like she's about to finally allow herself to live a normal life, but can she really tear down the wall she built around herself, or will she retreat further inside herself ?

The film is based on a play by Kevin Armento and its short film adaptation which was written and directed by Stefanie Abel Horowitz and co-written by Katy Wright-Mead. Its play origins are noticeable in the way scenes play out and the dialogue-driven narrative. But Lambert does have more cinematic tricks up her sleeve with surreal visually heightened montages that reflect Fran's inner world. Dabney Morris's score and Dustin Lane's cinematography are instrumental in building the film's intimate and evocative atmosphere of bubbling anxiety, most effectively highlighted in the film's first act, which depicts Fran's daily grind, drab office life and macabre daydreams.

Ridley's performance is fantastic, a melancholic tour de force, subdued and repressed, constantly on edge, with a mysterious allure that makes the character engaging. Unfortunately, despite a strong lead performance and some interesting cinematic choices, the movie ultimately hits a wall towards the end. Its lack of a clearly defined and more fleshed-out narrative ultimately frustrates us of the emotional payoff the movie desperately needed. It could have used some more fleshing out.

"Sometimes I Think About Dying" is a good movie, but not one I can widely recommend. If arthouse movies are not your thing, this movie will do nothing to change your opinion. But if you have the patience for a slow but perceptive drama with strong lead performance, you should give this movie a chance.

SCORE: 7/10