I’m dreaming of death in the workplace.
In the new Indie romantic dramedy “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” Daisy Ridley plays a socially awkward officer worker named Fran, who barely says anything at work and thinks about dying. An example is how she lies dead in the forrest with bigs nibbling at her hand or on a pile of wood at the beach. Why would she imagine that? Is she unhappy or doesn’t have the voice to speak her mind? That’s what I’m trying to figure out as I begin to watch this movie.
Despite the title, “Sometimes I Think About Dying” isn’t a depressing movie. It isn’t whiny or cynical or mean-spirited like Florian Zellar’s “The Son.” It’s rather a melancholy, sometimes funny, and truthful movie with a main character whom you want to find happiness or, at least, someone to keep her dying dreams at bay. Like this new employee, for example. His name is Robert (Dave Merheje), who likes movies and awkward silences. Silence. Just like that.
He finally gets Fran to have a conversation with somebody at work, like an invitation to a movie, which she accepts. That’s when the score has the ambiance of a 1950s movie, as she comes as early to the show as he does, and they both get ready to watch the show.
Then, they grab a bite to eat. It becomes a Siskel & Ebert moment for Fran and Robert as one of them loves the movie and the other hates it. When he asks her what she likes, she responds: “My job” because “I’m good at it.” And when she asks him why he loves movies so much, he says: “You get to watch. You get to look for something, and then try to understand it.”
They spend some time together and would be a perfect low key romantic couple, if only she believed in love. At the very least, they don’t have noisy arguments or predictable cliches. Do we always need them to help tell a story. “Sometimes I Think About Dying” doesn’t believe so. It believes in its own terms.
Now, I can imagine how Ridley would be guided by Wes Anderson in a future movie of his, because of how she uses her tone and dialogue. Actresses like Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, and Kara Hayward have adapted to his type of characters, and maybe Ridley can, too.
For now, she’s under the guidance of newbie director Rachel Lambert and writers Kevin Armento, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, and Katy Wright-Mead, who all do a good job drawing her character with a complex mind. And Armando wrote the play “Killers,” while Horowitz did a short film. Yes, some of Fran’s quiet dying moments take a little too long, but you still hope for the best for her, and you want her to change her tune to fill whatever void is in her life.
I’ve never heard of Dave Merheje, I wouldn’t have recognized his name in the credits, and I haven’t seen any of his material, but in “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” he does a good job playing a love interest, who can try to find happiness in his co-worker. He isn’t one of those creepy, annoying guys; he’s rather an honest person whom Fran is lucky to get to know.
Independent movies don’t always find the right audience, unless a strong word of mouth pushes them further. If you do get the opportunity to see “Sometimes I Think About Dying” at your local arthouse theater, then I suggest you give it a shot, and see Ridley in a fine, low-key role. No lightsabers necessary.
In Select Theaters This Friday