Sometimes I think About Dying (2023) Fantasia 2023

I had a very hard time watching SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING. It is not because it was bad but because I related to Daisey Ridley’s character way too much.

The plot of the film has quiet loner Ridley going through her day not connecting with anyone. Periodically she feels it would be better if she just died. Things become complicated when she meets the new guy at work. He is out going and friendly. He loves movies. They begin drifting in each other’s orbit.  The question is can she open up enough to him to make a relationship work?

There is a problem with the film and it has nothing to do with the film itself but the casting. As good as Daisey Ridley is, and she is really good, her role as Rey in the Star Wars films results in it taking a while before we full except Ridley as a bookish person. Try as she might she some times is too erect to be a downtrodden person. Ridley is really good, and by the time the final scene comes she’s breaking your heart, but there is no way I can not mention her being one of a generation’s heroes didn’t affect how I felt about the film.

Ridley’s ever so slight miscasting aside, this is a kick ass film. I utterly and completely related to what she was going through. It was in fact a painful experience because was cringing at some of the things that happened because I did and said and felt similar things. There is a late in the game line about wondering if the other person wished that they didn’t know her damn near broke me. This film is exactly what it’s like to be an introvert with uneven social skills.

The film also has some killer moments not wholly focused on Ridley. There is a moment late in the game meeting with one of the ladies who retired and went off to do great things only to find life interfered. The moment is one of the most poignant and truth full in any films I’ve seen in years. The brief monologue about life and a stroke was spot on and said volumes about how things happen. I ended up babbling about it to no one into the next scene. There are several others, but I will leave those to you to discover.

While I love that this film is playing Fantasia, it’s an excellent film, the truth is it’s programing is slightly a misnomer. This is simply a solid drama and not something, outside of the casting, belongs at a genre festival.

This film will move you, and if you are like me it might break you.

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