Poster courtesy of Mike Allen via Wikimedia Commons.
Sarah Berger ’27
A&E Editor
Although the name “Sometimes I Think About Dying” might put off those who are not existential moviegoers, it’s worth delving into the description before you completely take it off your radar.
The movie stars Fran (Daisy Ridley), an office worker who frequently slips into vivid daydreams of her own death. Fran’s monotonous inner world gains a bright spot when a new coworker, Robert (comedian Dave Meherje), appears in a nearby cubicle. The two of them form a slow bond, not quite platonic but not as romantic as the movie’s description suggests.
It takes about 20 minutes before Robert first enters the movie, and 45 until he and Fran have a meaningful conversation. Since the entirety of the movie is only an hour and a half, a large chunk of the conversations occur before the central relationship has been established, but this isn’t as irking as it would be for a different movie.
“Sometimes I Think About Dying” originated as a short film with a different cast, but in terms of plot, it has about as much material as one. There’s an office retirement, a movie date, a murder mystery party and a tense conversation. It’s completely different from most recent movies, which seem to have a compulsive need for perpetual action. Its unconventional nature makes it unlikely to grab awards or headlines, but despite being sparse in plot, the movie is incredibly watchable.
The dialogue is some of the most realistic captured on screen in recent memory, and even the background characters, who only exist as juxtapositions to Fran, feel real and engaging. Each shot is beautiful, even those bathed in the fluorescent lighting of Fran and Dave’s office. The shots of Fran’s “deaths” are artworks in their own right, even out of the movie’s content.
Meherje and Ridley both do an excellent job as their respective characters, shining in spite of their limited dialogue. Despite the title and subject matter, the movie doesn’t slip into self-pity or solipsism. Even as Fran’s depression impairs her, she never fails to see other people as real, independent and worthy of love.
It’s rare for a piece of media to be able to elevate the mundane to the beautiful or to examine a cubicle with reverence, but “Sometimes I Think About Dying” is up to the task. If you have an hour to spare and a willingness to journey to the heart of existence, the movie is absolutely worth watching.