Sometimes I Think About Dying

by Mike McGranaghan

After starring in the three most recent Star Wars movies, Daisy Ridley has put her career on an interesting path. She’s devoted herself to giving minimalist performances in arty fare like The Marsh King’s Daughter and now in Sometimes I Think About Dying. The actress excels at this style, and her abilities are nicely utilized in this quirky low-key comedy.

Ridley plays Fran, a small-town Oregon office worker. Her colleagues all enjoy interacting. She, on the other hand, barely acknowledges any of them, choosing to squirrel herself away at her desk. What the others don’t realize is that she’s fairly depressed, with intermittent fantasies about her own death. The new guy, Robert (Dave Merheje), takes an inexplicable shine to her. It seems like a romance might blossom, except that Fran is sufficiently walled up to prevent him from getting in.

That’s the movie in a nutshell. Not much happens in the plot. Director Rachel Lambert instead invites us to peek inside Fran’s bizarre psychology. This withdrawn woman is like an alien observing the customs of humans, usually failing to comprehend strange rituals such as watercooler talk, a birthday celebration, or getting excited because someone brought in a box of donuts. Humor arises when Fran ever-so-slightly responds to Robert, then attempts to approximate normal human behavior.

Sometimes I Think About Dying authentically captures the vibe of office camaraderie. All the supporting actors feel 100% real. That allows Fran’s introverted personality to stand out truthfully. Here’s a character so bottled up that she can’t even enjoy mundane workplace socialization. Because of that – and because Ridley so meaningfully suggests a world of hurt inside Fran – we start rooting for her to open up to Robert. No need exists for big dramatic events. Waiting to see if she’ll allow someone to care for her provides all the drama we need.

Ridley and Merheje make an unusual onscreen couple, but that’s why the pairing works. She plays Fran as a bundle of nerves, while he turns Robert into a guy who is not exactly an extrovert, yet is certainly an enthusiast with multiple interests, including cinema. Their odd couple dynamic is amusing to watch. Adding to the appeal is that we’re not entirely sure why Robert likes Fran so much. Just as we wonder if her guard will come down, we similarly wonder what happened in his past to draw him to a person so emotionally unavailable.

Sometimes I Think About Dying is as offbeat as a romantic comedy can get. It’s also a poignant look at extreme introversion. Daisy Ridley guarantees you care about Fran, even and especially in the moments where you want to shake her and scream, “Snap out of it!”

---