“She Dies Tomorrow”

(USA)

Metacritic (7/10), Rotten Tomatoes (***+)

We generally don’t know when death is going to come knocking at our door. But, when a woman receives a dream message that it’s happening tomorrow, it sends her life into a tailspin, one that quickly becomes compounded when the notion apparently becomes “contagious” and affects others. Director Amy Seimetz’s nuanced existential take on mortality examines the subject from a variety of angles, much of it punctuated by droll satirical humor, adding much-needed levity to a topic we often look upon with unrepentant dread. Some questions are left unanswered here, but that’s fitting in light of the inscrutable nature of a subject that most of us will never know anything about until we experience it firsthand (and, even then, the experience is likely to be different for each of us, given our own personal beliefs and sensibilities). Moreover, the film deftly explores the impact of fear and how quickly and easily it can spread, something that can be almost as devastating and pernicious as the prospect of death itself. As a psychological thriller, this offering didn’t score particularly well with audiences, but I suspect that’s because many viewers took it too literally and didn’t see, appreciate or understand the humor in the filmmaker’s approach. Keep that in mind as you screen this one, and I’m sure you’ll find it to be a delightfully whimsical experience.