When creating a movie about a disoriented, unhappy character, it can be challenging to avoid creating a dismal movie that is tough to watch. Thankfully, Daisy Ridley delivers a powerful performance at the center of Rachel Lambert’s independent film, which subtly suggests inner light throughout even the most depressing moments.
In the role of Fran, played by Ridley, she works as an office worker in a coastal Oregon town and is proud of her spreadsheet skills. She avoids interacting with her coworkers, hardly speaking in the workplace, and appearing to be a ghost when she’s at home. The haziness of Fran’s death visions contrasts with the sharply observed workplace scenarios, such as the difficulty of coming up with a sincere message for a colleague’s farewell card or suffering ice-breaking exercises during a meeting. She imagines her demise, as implied by the title.
To its advantage, the climax zeroes primarily on Daisy Ridley’s outstanding performance.
Fran makes new employee Robert (Dave Merheje) giggle, and it appears that this encourages her to attempt some human interaction, which is obviously not her forte. What comes next is a cautious wooing that is performed almost too deftly to be noticed. However, the end product is a strange movie; although Lambert obviously intends to imply that Fran has isolated herself in her own world, there are few indications that her inner existence is really cozy or friendly. She has lonesome, brilliantly shot thoughts of death; she does not dream of being avenged for some great injustice or dying in a heroic act. She doesn’t interact with art, enjoy the breathtaking surroundings of her beachfront house, or really do any of the things you would think would bring solace and happiness to a lonely person. She seems like a blank in beige.
There is also no visual contrast like in Walter Mitty or Chicago because both her daydreams and reality are desaturated and blue-washed; at times, it is difficult to tell one dream from the other. Daydreams intrude on daily life without warning.
Lambert should be commended for not taking the conventional psychological way and offering a canned response to Fran’s detachment, nor for abruptly giving up on nuance in favor of building to an explosive finale. Instead, and to its advantage, the conclusion zeroes solely on Ridley’s outstanding performance. There’s a true sense of place and some beautiful moments from her coworkers, especially Marcia DeBonis as the ready-to-retire Carol. Nevertheless, it is easy to go too subtle on the big screen, and occasionally the film’s extreme restraint comes across as intimidating and closed off, much like Fran.