Sundance Film Festival Review: ‘By Design’ is About as Weird as It Gets

I certainly am down with a bizarre film. Hell, oftentimes, the weirder the better for me. Especially at a festival, some strange really does help to mix it up. Sometimes, however, things can be just a little too offbeat. Exhibit A at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival is By Design, a unique twist on the body swap genre that is all set up, but not much in the way of a punchline. The movie achieves its goals, I think, but it very much was not for me.

By Design is the sort of flick that’s largely proof of concept, relying on you being all in on said concept in order for it to work. It’s hard not to appreciate what the film is doing. Especially considering how singular it is, that in and of itself is an achievement. Now, do I respect the movie for that? Absolutely. Did I enjoy myself watching it? Absolutely not, and therein lies the rub.

After one of their weekly lunches, Camille (Juliette Lewis) goes with her friends Lisa (Samantha Mathis) and Irene (Robin Tunney) to a unique furniture store. There, she’s taken by a chair, in a way that few are usually taken by a chair. It becomes an obsession for her, one that will end up taking over her life in a very unique manner.

When Camille goes back to the store in order to buy the chair, she’s told that someone beat her to it. Then, somehow, Camille’s switches bodies, souls, or something with the chair. Her body is at home in a vegetative state that no one notices. They treat her like normal, perhaps even liking her better. She’s actually inside the chair, which ends up in the apartment of Olivier (Mamoudou Athie), who is just as into the chair. Then, it really gets weird.

Juliette Lewis buys into the bizarre premise, even though her performance is somewhat one-note. She’s solid, as are Samantha Mathis and Robin Tunney, but you do wish there was a little bit more there. It’s Mamoudou Athie who really dives into the flick, having more fun than anyone else. Supporting players include Betty Buckley, Clifton Collins Jr., Keir Gilchrist, Udo Kier, and Melanie Griffith as the narrator, because of course this movie has narration.

Filmmaker Amanda Kramer is not shy about making the movie she wants to make. The premise is certainly unique and intriguing. For some people, her quirky execution is going to be enough. For others, like myself, it’s going to come up a bit short. Still, you can’t knock her for thinking small. Kramer makes By Design unlike anything else you’ve ever seen before. It winds up a bit stagey and doesn’t go to all the potential places it could, but it’s a project that doesn’t lack for ambition.

By Design is easily the weirdest film at Sundance this year, though frustratingly it leaves you wishing it was either a little more accessible, or potentially even a bit odder. A move in either direction would have benefitted the movie. As it stands, it winds up caught in between, as neither cinematic fish nor cinematic fowl. Alas.

SCORE: ★★1/2