Likening yourself to an inanimate object is a classic tenet of girlhood. At any moment one could feel like a plastic bag, a Hello Kitty plushie, or a stalk of celery. Sometimes it feels good to explore our inner worlds through hyperbole and metaphor; sometimes you just don’t want to feel like a person at all. It’s that unspoken desire that By Design, the latest surreal satire from Amanda Kramer, takes to its most literal extent. Part experimental theater, part absurd tragicomedy, By Design is an oddball of a film — but it manages to express an untenable aspect of the feminine mystique with a unique blend of gonzo charm.
Yellowjackets’ Juliette Lewis stars as Camille, a single, middle-aged woman desperate to transcend her own humanity. Her day-to-day life routinely fails to provide the sort of stimulation she yearns for: though she spends most days lunching with chatty friends Lisa (Samantha Mathis) and Irene (Robin Tunney), their conversations are “devoid of ideas” and, without fail, always “filled with crisis.” Lisa and Irene would sooner exchange passive-aggressive pleasantries than discuss anything worthwhile, a habit that grates against Camille’s own existential equilibrium. When one calls Camille to talk behind the other’s back, our heroine wisely asks if any of this would matter to an alien studying humanity. As By Design’s omniscient narrator (Melanie Griffith) explains, this is a woman who would gladly leave society behind if given the chance.
