Ridley shines in poignant character study
Released today in the middle of what seems like unending gray Bay Area winter weather, Sometimes I Think About Dying is the perfect film to watch given our collective dreary mood.
Daisy Ridley stars here as the introverted and mousy Fran, a subdued role that’s a complete 180 from Ridley’s Star Wars action hero Rey. Clad in beige cardigans and barely speaking to her chatty, affable co-workers, Fran is content to fade into the background and avoid office small talk. She works her desk job in the Port Authority of a small seaside Oregon town, keeps to herself, and returns home to microwaved dinners and glasses of wine. She spends a significant amount of time daydreaming about ways she might die, which we see in some of the picture’s more imaginatively rendered scenes
Whether Fran is clinically depressed or just painfully shy isn’t fully answered, but when Robert, a new co-worker, pierces through Fran’s protective wall with a dryly funny interoffice instant message, Fran tentatively begins to leave her comfort zone and explore a real connection. Recently divorced Robert (comedian Dave Merheje, playing it straight) is intrigued by Fran, but also frustrated by her unwillingness to open up. Can these two wounded souls get past their issues to form a healthy relationship?
Director Rachel Lambert keeps us invested in the question and rooting for the pair, even as we witness their misunderstandings and mistakes. Lambert effectively channels Kelly Reichardt’s work here by setting her quiet character study along the Oregon coast, using sparse dialogue, and offering up silent shots of the area’s natural beauty. Lambert’s portrayal of daily office work and co-worker interaction is also the most amusingly accurate representation of workplace dynamics since The Office. Just try and watch a slightly awkward cake-and-paper plate office kitchen retirement party without cringing a little. We understand why Fran stands in the doorway observing, ready to escape early with her slice of cake. But we also know that a part of Fran longs for the inclusion such forced collegiality can bring by default.
Ridley and Merheje are both terrific, but are nearly one-upped by Marcia DeBonis, as their retiring colleague Carol. A scene in which Carol confides to Fran about her personal life is easily the film’s best, and Carol’s musing that “It’s hard, isn’t it… being a person?” is beautifully delivered and exquisitely sums up the picture’s themes.
Lambert’s film is based on a 2019 short film of the same name that racked up a series of film festival awards, as well as a Sundance Short Film Grand Jury prize nomination. Similarly, this feature length version was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance last year, and it’s easy to see why. Lambert’s moody, quirky picture is exactly the sort of empathetic character-driven indie that Sundance juries love. And you will, too.
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Sometimes I Think About Dying opens today at the AMC Metreon in San Francisco and at the AMC Bay Street in Emeryville.
