Sometimes I Think About Dying is a 2023 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Rachel Lambert, and written by Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, and Katy Wright-Mead. It is based on the 2014 play Killers by Armento, and a short film that was released in 2019, directed and co-written by Horowitz. The film stars Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena, Marcia DeBonis, Meg Stalter, Brittany O'Grady, and Bree Elrod.
| Sometimes I Think About Dying | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rachel Lambert |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Killers by Kevin Armento[1] |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Dustin Lane |
| Edited by | Ryan Kendrick |
| Music by | Dabney Morris |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Oscilloscope Laboratories |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $245,127[3][4] |
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2023, and was released on January 26, 2024.
Premise
editFran is a socially awkward office worker who spends most of her time in isolation and daydreams of her own death, when a new colleague pricks the bubble of her own isolation.[5]
Cast
edit- Daisy Ridley as Fran
- Dave Merheje as Robert
- Parvesh Cheena as Garrett
- Marcia DeBonis as Carol
- Meg Stalter as Isobel
- Brittany O'Grady as Sophie
- Bree Elrod as Amelia
- Lauren Beveridge as Tellulah
- Ayanna Berkshire as Emma
- Sean Tarjyoto as Sean
- Jeb Berrier as Doug
- Rich Hinz as Rich
- Treasure Lunan as Bennie
- June Eisler as June
Production
editIn October 2021, it was reported that Daisy Ridley secretly shot an independent drama in Astoria, Oregon;[6] the project would later be announced in December 2021 in which Ridley also produced the film with Rachel Lambert directing.[7] The screenplay by Kevin Armento is a partial adaptation of his own 2013 play Killers, with Stefanie Abel Horowitz, who directed a 2019 short of the same name, also a screenwriter along with Katy Wright-Mead. All three had also been credited with screenwriting the 2019 short and Horowitz had also directed the 2013 play.[8]
The film is set in a small city on the coast of Oregon.[9] Ridley told a crowd at the Sundance Film Festival that she related to Fran saying "Like, sometimes I feel like a piece of fucking shit. And sometimes I feel, like, great…What was interesting with Fran was sometimes she's sort of obnoxious. Sometimes, she's like, 'I don't want to play your games. I don't want to talk about food. I'm good, I'm apart from this.' And other times, she's like, 'How do I become part of this?' So I resonated with that."[10]
Release
editSometimes I Think About Dying premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2023.[11] In April 2023, Oscilloscope acquired the US distribution rights to the film.[12] The UK distribution rights were acquired by Vertigo Releasing in May 2023.[13] It was released in the United States on January 26, 2024,[14] and in the United Kingdom on April 19.[2]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of 124 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Departing from corporate comedy, Sometimes I Think About Dying modestly explores critical human connection through a superbly melancholic Daisy Ridley."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]
Helen O'Hara in Empire described a "beautiful, subdued Daisy Ridley performance" and wrote "if you’re tired of blockbuster bombast, this could be the antidote".[17] Peter Debruge in Variety said, "Movies tend to cut these bits out, to focus on the escapist stuff, but every once in a while one comes along, searching for poetry in the mundane." Ridley's character Fran's daydreams are shown as images, and Debruge noted that those "scenes are unexpected, surreal, accompanied by a lovely, meditative string score from composer Dabney Morris. Fran doesn't seem suicidal, but she isn't particularly engaged in life either. The character’s personality is so understated, it's strange to find someone of Ridley's stature drawn to such a self-effacing role".[18] Lovia Gyarkye said in The Hollywood Reporter, "Loneliness is the subject of a poetic exploration…Fran is too distinctively drawn to be just an avatar, but the impressions of her solitude are aching reminders of how modern life nurtures an unsettling separateness… Sometimes I Think About Dying, then, is a graceful treatise on how challenging — but liberating — it can be to make connections."[19]
References
edit- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying". Writers Guild of America West. December 23, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ a b "Sometimes I Think About Dying (15)". BBFC. April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying (2024) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying". Sundance Film Festival.
- ^ "Film crew shoots independent movie in Astoria featuring 'Star Wars' actress". The Astorian. October 22, 2021.
- ^ "Daisy Ridley To Star And Produce Indie 'Sometimes I Think About Dying'". Deadline Hollywood. December 15, 2021.
- ^ "Daisy Ridley to Star in, Produce Indie Drama 'Sometimes I Think About Dying'". Collider. December 15, 2021.
- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying' Review: Daisy Ridley Tries To Come Out Of Her Shell [Sundance]". Theplaylist.net. January 19, 2023.
- ^ "Daisy Ridley Relates to Her Character in Sometimes I Think About Dying: 'Sometimes I Feel Like a Piece of F—ing Shit'". MovieMaker.com. January 20, 2023.
- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying' Review: Daisy Ridley's Wondrous, Whimsical New Journey". Indiewire. January 20, 2023.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (April 19, 2023). "Daisy Ridley's Sundance Pic 'Sometimes I Think About Dying' Lands At Oscilloscope". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ Barraclough, Leo (May 18, 2023). "Daisy Ridley's 'Sometimes I Think About Dying,' Which Premiered at Sundance, Sells to U.K.'s Vertigo (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ Echebiri, Makuochi (November 13, 2023). "Daisy Ridley-Led Sometimes I Think About Dying Gets Release Date & New Poster". Collider. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ O'Hara, Helen (April 15, 2024). "Sometimes I Think About Dying review". Empire. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
- ^ "Sometimes I Think About Dying' Review: Daisy Ridley's Dreamy Sundance Indie Leaves Room to Think About Other Things". Variety. January 19, 2023.
- ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (January 20, 2023). "Sometimes I Think About Dying' Review: Daisy Ridley Carries a Poetic Meditation on Isolation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
