By Design
Amanda Kramer‘s (Please Baby Please) emotionally revealing film, By Design, follows a woman whose soul enters the chair she longed to buy. Camille is the third wheel in her small circle of friends. When she loses an exquisite wooden chair to another desperate woman, her body becomes the vessel to revive those around her, but at what cost?
Camille exists to make her friends feel better about themselves. Kramer builds a character that speaks volumes in restraint, giving Lewis the freedom to break every physical and emotional barrier. By Design is a stage piece on film. There is an immediate theatricality to Camille’s friends, but only to anyone who’s never been in a space with women of a certain economic advantage. To speak of everything and nothing at all is part of the act. Vapid conversation comprised solely of one-upmanship is the name of the game. Camille yearns to be seen. Read More →
SO UNREAL
The script could be an audiobook or podcast all its own. Harry describes the entire play-by-play as if creating the alt text of an Instagram post. Jon Cooper’s graphics are a time capsule that comes to life. Enhanced by Josh Ascalon‘s ominous, 80s-inspired score and Benjamin Shearn‘s immaculate editing of sporadic audio clips and archival footage, SO UNREAL is a hypnotic head trip.
Demi Moore plays upstairs neighbor Maureen. She’s a hot pink and animal print-drenched eccentric woman and the perfect influence on Suze, giving her permission to let go of her inhibitions. Karl Glusman is Teddy, a member of The Young Gents with an eye for Arthur. Glusman nails the classic greaser role, adding a relentless sensuality to his words. He is fantastic. 
The score is brilliant, with a mix of bass plucking, bongo drums, and saxophone wails. Short bursts of choreography smartly encapsulate the mood and era. The sets are deliciously accentuated with neon-colored everyday objects, black light hues, and engulfing blues and magenta. Everything sort of glows like a live-action comic book.
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