She Dies Tomorrow (2020)
Check out my interview with writer/director Amy Seimetz:
https://directorsclubpodcast.libsyn.com/website/bonus-episode-amy-seimetz
Some movies feel more like experiences rather than just being a movie. You don’t watch it, you are fully immersed into the feeling that the movie is creating. Having recently taken a graduate level course on review writing, I know we’re not supposed to necessarily include ourselves in a review but there are just some experiences that I have to write about. To use a cliche, “this time it’s personal.” Of course all movie analysis is personal, but this one doubly so. Mainly because I felt connected to nearly everything about it which is probably a scary thought for those who are just aware of the premise. The pain of existing with death as an inevitable end is something we all know and feel but it’s rarely talked about. Which is why this film is more than a breath of fresh air, it is oddly comforting to experience an eerie mood piece that is less about narrative and more about fragility.
What if fear of death was a pandemic instead of a physical virus? Well, I think we’re all carrying that fear more than ever at this time. Some prefer to keep those thoughts in the background but films like these force us to put it in the foreground. Not to say that there aren’t laughs or awkwardness along the way, but yes, this film is about anxiety and a profound fear of death that ends up becoming contagious. What’s unusual for me is that I don’t have a fear of death necessarily. I almost died from a rare fungal infection and was in the hospital for nearly a month in recovery. It was a freakish occurrence and from the moment I got out, I have mainly shrugged off the idea of dying because I was very close to it already. However, I always look at the shrugging as a bit of a reflection of Kirsten Dunst’s character in Melancholia. When you have depression, death might be some kind of profound release. In other words, it’s not the end of the world, it just happens and maybe there’s even a sigh of relief knowing that it’s time to move forward to whatever may be next. Authors like Camus or Kafka also tackled the idea of existential dread in ways that continue to speak to future generations, using words that resonate similarly to the way that Buenel or Lynch use dreamlike visual language.
In She Dies Tomorrow, we start with a slow, melancholic first act following former alcoholic Amy (Kate Lyn Sheil) as she inhabits an overwhelming feeling that she will die the next day, and begins having trouble comprehending the fact that today will be her last. One immediately thinks these thoughts are fueled by falling off the wagon or possibly having gone through some kind of trauma that is never clearly defined but we definitely are given clues. When she gives these details to her best friend Jane (Jane Adams) her wild assumptions are deemed crazy, until Jane herself starts to have the same obsessive thoughts. She in turn shares them with her brother at a dinner party and then to the guests there as well. Everyone soon becomes possessed almost with the thought that they will not be alive for much longer, and what does that mean. The mystery deepens with the arrival of some Lynchian light patterns of blue, white and red. All of these folks are hypnotized by it while also experiencing the deepest dread they’ve ever felt.
I’ve felt that dread. Let’s just say I’ve had seven panic attacks in my life. Can’t say for sure that’s an accurate count. Each and every time, I am convinced that I will be dead soon. The most recent one I had during quarantine actually had me jotting down all my passwords for friends so they could have access to my files and email in order to continue some of the projects I’ve started. That’s how real and intense anxiety can get. It actually fills your mind with the same thoughts. My shrugging off of death suddenly becomes a harsh reality in those moments to where I begin to reject the emotions I’m experiencing. While watching She Dies Tomorrow, I immediately sensed the horror that may come with being able to pass on that feeling, that contagion of thought. If there were this disease where you can pass on your panic attack to another human being, that would be awful. It would also be an experience of true empathy or some kind of anxiety-fueled telepathy. After I had watched this film for the first time, I knew I had seen something special but I would be remiss in not mentioning that my neighbors’ window somehow emitted blue, red and white lights as I was falling asleep that night. So that was strange. Thankfully I didn’t experience panic, but a sense of comfort and relief that a film like this can be made. I felt that same cathartic sigh after another film that Seimetz starred in called Upstream Color. Her performance in that remains one of my absolute favorites to date. But once again, she shows how multi-talented she truly is by telling this story in such a confident manner. The cerebral, ambiguous ending is definitely a puzzle, but in a satisfying way that will likely stimulate thought and conversation with those who embark on this journey.
There’s no denying its dark humor as well as its compassion for everyone on-screen. Kate Lyn Sheil is an actress who deserves far more recognition with this film along with Seimetz’ debut, Sun Don’t Shine, another film I’ve championed and loved since seeing it. Jane Adams is another MVP of the indie film world who I’ve also adored going all the way back to Happiness. This is another case of great casting, taking her dark thoughts to a small gathering is one of the highlights here. If I had to make a comparison in terms of tune, I would liken this film to David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows, another masterpiece of dread and tension that still hasn’t left my mind. Thematically, I would also cite the equally interesting Pontypool as a possible influence as well, another film about a different kind of virus. But this is truly distinctive all its own. Seimetz has proven time and time again that she is one of the most talented artists working today and that she absolutely needs to continue working since we need voices like hers out there. This is a true blue original cinematic vision of the highest caliber and it couldn’t come out at a better time. I just wish everyone could’ve had the experience of seeing this work of art on a big screen, the sound design alone deserves all the acclaim possible and would benefit from more than just TV speakers.
Having seen her in so many films as well as her assured direction of the underrated TV adaptation of The Girlfriend Experience, I can easily say this is Seimetz’s strongest work to date. It plays a trick of the mind for the audience, directing our feelings to match those of the exposition. When the character feels fear, we feel it too. It is an infectious transference of sorts that seeps into us like smoke. There are also very distinct visual choices that are unforgettable as well as the use of a recurring classical piece that also externalizes the internal. A lot has already been written about how prescient this film is due to how it showcases a type of virus that I think we can all identify with lately. We’re all afraid and the news is spreading that uncertainty about the future like a plague that’s out of our control. As much as this fully realized story is about a contagion of unadulterated apprehension, it’s also about the purity of anxiety in ways that are both funny and terrifying. It is one of our most powerful emotions and this film captures that sad, scary power from beginning to end. To some degree, anxiety is also funny when it passes. Anytime I’ve had a panic attack, I usually laugh the next day going, “Haha, I can’t believe I actually thought I was dying!” This film has that kind of pitch-black humor too so I’m grateful there’s levity among the more intense moments portrayed throughout. I have no reservations in saying this might be the best film ever made about anxiety. It certainly belongs in the conversation of smart films that explore mental health in a very unconventional way. She Dies Tomorrow is easily my favorite film of 2020 and I look forward to experiencing it on a big screen someday to let those familiar feelings wash over me, like a blinding light.
Rent on VOD today:
https://neonrated.com/films/she-dies-tomorrow
