When Being Seen Becomes the Real Fantasy

Read Time:5 Minute, 24 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
By Design
–

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Year Released: 2025, 2026
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director(s): Amanda Kramer
Writer(s): Amanda Kramer
Cast: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Betty Buckley
Where to Watch: opens in theaters nationwide February 13, 2026; NYC: Quad Cinema, LA: Alamo Drafthouse DTLA, Chicago: The Music Box Theater, Additional Markets TBA

RAVING REVIEW: What happens when the desire to be loved curdles into the desire to disappear? BY DESIGN doesn’t ask that question softly, and it certainly doesn’t bother cushioning the answer. Amanda Kramer’s feature takes an absurdist premise that sounds like a punchline and commits to it with absolute seriousness, using surrealism not as a stylistic lens, but as a blunt instrument for interrogating female interiority, objectification, and the fantasy of frictionless existence.

Juliette Lewis plays Camille, a woman whose dissatisfaction isn’t rooted in trauma or crisis so much as a pervasive sense of being tolerated rather than cherished. Kramer wastes no time grounding that feeling in everyday interactions, casual conversations with friends, a strained dynamic with her mother, and social rituals that feel rehearsed rather than lived. When Camille encounters a beautifully crafted chair in a showroom and finds herself envying its stillness, its purpose, and the reverence it inspires, the idea isn’t presented as a joke, but as an uncomfortably logical extension of how she already sees herself.

The film’s central idea, Camille swapping bodies with the chair, is handled with startling restraint. There’s no emphasis on mechanics or explanation, because BY DESIGN isn’t interested in how the swap happens. What matters is what follows. As a chair, Camille becomes easier to love. She listens without interrupting. She never contradicts. She exists to be admired, used, and discussed. The cruelty of that realization is where the film quietly tightens its grip.

Kramer’s direction leans heavily into theatricality and deliberate artificiality. Sets feel curated rather than lived in, blocking is precise, and performances hover in a stylized space between sincerity and affectation. This isn’t a world meant to resemble reality so much as an emotional diagram, each element arranged to reflect how Camille experiences herself in relation to others. The deadpan tone never breaks, even as the film veers into erotic fixation and surreal choreography, reinforcing the sense that this is a fantasy constructed out of emotional exhaustion rather than whimsy.

Lewis gives a remarkably controlled performance, especially given how much of the film requires her to portray suppression rather than express. Camille isn’t manic or exaggerated; she’s hollowed out, moving through scenes with the practiced politeness of someone who has learned that needing too much is a liability. Once she becomes chair, her absence paradoxically sharpens the character. The stillness becomes expressive, a visual embodiment of the way she’s always felt.

Mamoudou Athie’s Olivier, the minimalist bachelor who becomes romantically fixated on the chair, could easily have slipped into parody. Instead, Athie plays him with unsettling sincerity. His attraction isn’t framed as monstrous so much as revealing, exposing how desire often latches onto surfaces that promise control, beauty, and silence. The film resists moralizing his fixation, allowing it to exist as another facet of a culture that confuses possession with intimacy.

The supporting cast, particularly Samantha Mathis and Robin Tunney as Camille’s friends and Betty Buckley as her mother, reinforces the film’s thesis through behavior rather than exposition. As Camille recedes, their relationships improve. Conversations flow smoothly. Conflict evaporates. BY DESIGN doesn’t need to underline the point; the ease with which everyone adapts speaks volumes.

Kramer doesn’t offer narrative handholds or emotional release. The repetition of situations and the sustained deadpan approach can feel exhausting, especially for audiences expecting escalation or resolution. At times, the metaphor grows so rigid that it risks flattening its own emotional impact, prioritizing concept over variation. That rigidity also feels deliberate. It’s a film about what it costs to be palatable, and it mirrors that cost in its own structure. The discomfort isn’t accidental; it’s the point. Kramer pushes the idea until it becomes unwieldy, forcing viewers to sit with the implications rather than laugh them off.

What ultimately distinguishes BY DESIGN is its clarity of purpose. This isn’t surrealism for the sake of oddity or provocation. Every choice, from the performances to the narration, reinforces the idea that being admired is not the same as being known, and that disappearing into usefulness can feel safer than insisting on presence. It’s a modern fable that understands how often women are rewarded for becoming objects, and how seductive that reward can be.

BY DESIGN won’t work for everyone, and it doesn’t try to. It’s abrasive in its calmness, confrontational in its stillness, and unwavering in its commitment to a metaphor that refuses to soften. For those willing to meet it on its terms, it’s one of Amanda Kramer’s most realized works, a film that understands exactly what it’s doing and accepts the consequences of doing it this way.

Please visit https://linktr.ee/overlyhonestr for more reviews.

You can follow me on Letterboxd, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. My social media accounts can also be found on most platforms by searching for 'Overly Honest Reviews'.

I’m always happy to hear from my readers; please don't hesitate to say hello or send me any questions about movies.

[photo courtesy of MUSIC BOX FILMS, COLD IRON PICTURES, SMUDGE FILMS]

DISCLAIMER:
At Overly Honest Movie Reviews, we value honesty and transparency. Occasionally, we receive complimentary items for review, including DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, Vinyl Records, Books, and more. We assure you that these arrangements do not influence our reviews, as we are committed to providing unbiased and sincere evaluations. We aim to help you make informed entertainment choices regardless of our relationship with distributors or producers.

Amazon Affiliate Links:
Additionally, this site contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may receive a commission. This affiliate arrangement does not affect our commitment to honest reviews and helps support our site. We appreciate your trust and support as you navigate these links.