➤ SHE DIES TOMORROW, from p.24
Far beyond even the requirements
of its premise, “She Dies
Tomorrow” avoids naturalism. The
lighting frequently alternates between
bright red and blue fl ashes. It
includes extreme close-ups of molecules
and cells, imagery mirrored
toward its end by blood fl owing
freely but mysteriously throughout
its world. The soundtrack is fi lled
with ominous, inexplicable bursts
of white noise.
Seimetz’s style evokes European
directors like Gaspar Noé and
Nicolas Winding Refn. But unlike
them, she’s uninterested in
extremes of sex and violence. Exploring
the edges of the psyche is
enough for “She Dies Tomorrow.” It
knows how to use negative space
to make its vision creepier, rather
than piling on excess.
The rest of the characters take
Amy’s anxiety as a given and fi nd
it extremely believable that they’re
bound to die tomorrow. Excellent
performances from a fi ne ensemble
cast sell this idea.
Jane Adams contributes a particularly
powerful turn as a woman
who starts out thinking that
she can help her friend but winds
up getting sucked into her downward
spiral and even spreading it
further.
The conceit behind “She Dies Tomorrow”
might seem silly if the fi lm
didn’t go to such lengths to make
us feel uneasy. Its world’s emotions
are the same as our own. But its
use of color and sound design are
meant to represent Amy’s mental
space. Within the fi lm, her emotions
spread out into the world, but
➤ MATMOS, from p.23
both there and on “The Consuming
Flame,” but vocal texts get lost
on the Matmos album.
“Shall We Go On Sinning…”
draws from house music without
developing its songs into dancefl
oor bangers. Instead, hummed
vocals and synthesizer drones drift
sideways.
One can read any emotion into
“The Consuming Flame,” but
chances are it will be contradicted
within a few minutes. On the other
hand, “Shall We Go On Sinning…”
its power also stems from the way
they speak to its spectators at the
same time.
It’s a commonplace that sci-fi
dystopias and apocalypses now
feel like an accurate way of representing
our world. There’s even a
term for the mentality behind “She
Dies Tomorrow”: “doomer.” But
its central concept of anxiety and
despair spreading like a disease
is barely a metaphor. Even before
COVID hit the US, deaths from
suicide and drug overdoses were
lowering Americans’ life expectancy.
Several studies have estimated
that a large minority of Americans
are suffering from clinical anxiety
and depression.
“She Dies Tomorrow” keeps returning
to the image of blood, usually
in a specifi cally female context
alongside allusions to abortion and
periods.
If there’s any hope in this fi lm,
it stems from the recognition that
our minds and bodies have always
been constructed to die.
The apocalyptic overtones of
“She Dies Tomorrow” are particularly
resonant at this moment,
when we can’t even begin to mourn
because a substantial percentage
of the country doesn’t take seriously
the disease that has killed
150,000 Americans so far. As a result,
parts of the fi lm are extremely
uncomfortable viewing. But it implicitly
raises the question of what
we should do with our lives today if
“no future” is a reality.
SHE DIES TOMORROW | Directed
by Amy Seimetz | NEON | Streaming
at neonrated.com/fi lms/shedies
tomorrow.
looks to music as a way to construct
an image of a better world
on the other side of our current
hellscape. By design, it’s an easier
listen, but I don’t think I’m copping
out in fi nding it a far more rewarding
one.
MATMOS | “The Consuming Flame:
Open Exercises in Group Form” |
Thrill Jockey | Drop Aug. 21 | thrilljockey.
com
SOFT PINK TRUTH| “Shall We
Go On Sinning So That Grace May
Increase?” | Thrill Jockey | thrilljockey.
com
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