"So gushes an unseen woman in the first shot of By Design, Andrea Kramer's zany film about the pleasures (and perils) of aesthetic obsession. In the center of the frame, a wooden chair beckons our gaze from a swanky showroom, to be replaced in the next shot with a woman (Juliette Lewis) crowned in retro bangs."
"Camille is the only one who genuinely needs a chair for her home - and the only one who absolutely can't afford this one. Stricken by the 'sold' tag tied to its back the next day, she clasps the chair and makes a wish. Then poof: her soul enters the chair's body, with divine (mis)adventures in design and desire to follow."
"For fans of Lewis, her blend of slapstick and pathos is reason enough to see the film. But Grace Surnow's whimsical sets and Sophie Hardeman's vintage-inspired outfits equally anchor this surrealist take on a body-swap comedy that reveals itself to be equal parts dark and droll."
By Design follows Camille, a woman obsessed with a luxury side chair she cannot afford. During a shopping trip with her materialistic friends Lisa and Irene, Camille becomes infatuated with an elegant chair at a furniture studio. When the chair is marked sold, she makes a wish while clasping it, and her soul mysteriously enters the chair's body. The film uses this surrealist body-swap premise to critique mass culture's conflation of femininity with consumerism and envy. Director Andrea Kramer combines slapstick comedy with darker themes, supported by whimsical production design and vintage-inspired costumes that enhance the film's satirical exploration of aesthetic obsession and desire.
Read at Hyperallergic
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