Daydreams

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"Sometimes I Think About Dying tackles social anxiety and loneliness in a purposefully dull yet intriguing fashion. Lingering cinematography, atmospheric score, and a phenomenal Daisy Ridley - a career-best performance - somehow make it all work, but its uneventful, repetitive narrative won't be for everyone.

Still, after a good night's sleep, I actually feel more positive than yesterday, so maybe it's a film that will grow on people over time. As one character puts it, "it's hard being a person". And with that, I can fully relate to."

Rating: B-

"Sometimes I Think About Dying" is a poignant and introspective film that illuminates the complexity of human emotions and existential struggles. Through its compelling narrative and beautifully crafted characters, the film explores themes of loneliness, depression and the search for meaning in life. The portrayals are authentic and moving, drawing the viewer into the inner turmoil of the protagonists. It is a thought-provoking journey that inspires empathy and reflection, reminding us of the importance of connection and understanding in a world where the thought of mortality can often weigh heavily on the mind.

First of all, ignore all these moronic reviews that say "it's boring" or "it has no plot so it sucks". These people don't get it. They need constant action, plot points and shiny objects. If that's you, simply DO NOT WATCH movies like this!

This film only has a few settings, it focuses on negative space and silence, which oddly enough is how depression works. It also has a lot to do with suicidal ideation (that's the title so clearly).

The movie focuses on Daisy Ridley. She's quiet, awkward and might be depressed. These type of acting roles for an already established high-level actor can be challenging. She really knocks it out of the park. Her acting is very subtle and meta, and that's basically the film.

I truly enjoyed the film annd all the characters add so much value to it. Totally enjoyable if you like quiet, thinking films. 7.3/10.

Sometimes I Think About Dying, I think this is the first Ridley movie I've seen after her career in star wars, so.. quite a shift in tone. But a good film nonetheless. It allowed Ridley to show a lot more of herself and she deserves it because being tainted by a massive franchise is hard to break out of and really shape your own path.

Directing is something special here, and is what elevates this movie beyond it's subdued plot and somewhat lackluster story. But the beautiful meditative method of filming really sucks you into the world, but also the time and place, it just really slows you down. It's a very oddly relaxing movie. The into perfectly blends you into the little world you're stepping into. Just great. Paced well too, certainly didn't really overstay it's welcome but also didn't stick the land as much as I'd hoped.

The story and how it accentuates it with scenes like the poster, for me never really managed to capture much that the character was already doing day to day. It added another highlight, but not a layer or depth to the thought process. And if anything I wish we had more of that, more to explore. But it continues to be distant. Intentionally, in story, but also to the viewer.

Is this a movie that showcases depression that well. Nah. But it doesn't hurt it either, it's a perspective and I can appreciate the directing behind it. It has snippets of the real thing, also some blending of social anxiety.

Music was good too, used effectively. Sound design was excellent. Making dull quite rooms sound like dull quiet rooms isn't easy.

Good, but some potential left out.

As much as I loved the style in which director Rachel Lambert explored a few weeks in the largely uneventful (but..eventful too.. sort of?) life of a socially awkward isolation-enjoyer, what spoke to me is her sense of visual aesthetics. The port city of Astoria, Orgeon is a distinct character within the film, and its laidback stillness is something I grew to like. Several frames delineate the notion, and I think they sublimely complimented the life that Fran (Daisy Ridley) lives. She enjoys her work, but loves running away from the small talk that the office brings. She awkwardly exits office gatherings, including one where a longtime colleague of hers is retiring. There's greater meaning to most of these little moments, but not everything has a meaty payoff.

The film's delicate pacing is, at times, broken through banter between Fran and her new colleague Robert (Dave Merheje), as well as through sudden transitions where she ponders over death (..her death, i.e.). This is the most I've enjoyed a Daisy Ridley performance in years, and it speaks volumes when an actor can convey the right emotions through subtle changes in body language. Fran isn't much of a talker per se, but when she does, she's also less curious. She slowly grows to love movies and being around people, thanks to Robert's interventions. I like how the film addresses the issue of Robert being unable to fully comprehend Fran as a person. There are layers to her than even we (..as audiences..) cannot fully peel off. We know next-to-nothing about her family, and the circumstances in which she grew up. We know she ain't suicidal, but she doesn't seem to relish life all that much either.

Actually, a lot of unsaid elements contribute to further, deeper readings of Fran's demeanor. Her depressing thoughts on death aside, there's one moving scene towards the end where she randomly encounters the retired ex-colleague and learns how life is so unpredictable and difficult, underneath all the "plaster" that we add to it. I got to know that the film is based on a 2013 play called Killers, and it, sure as hell, makes for splendid material on the stage. I'm glad though, that Lambert decided to make it into a film, as mundanity of life is something that's less discussed in the world of cinema. Dabney Morris' score adds to the understated nature of its proceedings, making the experience even better.