And Now I Lay Me Down
2024 · 28m · USA
Directed by Rani DeMuth
Genres: dark comedy, drama
Tones: darkly comic, melancholic
After learning she's been fired from a role for being too old, fading actress Celia Dalvi arranges her perfect last day on earth — but her elaborate plan for a graceful exit refuses to cooperate.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
An actress plans her death because Hollywood decided she's too old for the role — the premise weaponizes industry ageism as dark comedy fuel, and Jane Kaczmarek commits to it completely.
DeMuth frames Hollywood ageism as literally lethal, with Jane Kaczmarek anchoring a 28-minute Sunset Boulevard riff. The autobiographical origin (cancer, erasure) gives the bravado real weight.
Jane Kaczmarek as a fading actress arranging her own perfect last day is a gift of casting, and DeMuth's autobiographical Hollywood-ageism-as-lethal premise has actual stakes underneath the dark comedy. 28 minutes is long but the conceit can carry it — the question is whether the tonal switching from bravado to grief stays lockstep.
Festivals
- Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2024