Die, My Dear (2017) User Reviews

That's Another Symptom

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 1 July 2017]

PLOT SPOILERS, but what is there to figure out? Victor (Thomas Burks) and Miranda (Deirdre McCauley) separated for 10 years have a date night where they poison each other, something I suspected from the title. The rest of the film is a brief recap of their differences and some hallucinations showing their deepest fears, feelings, regrets etc. The film was far from horror or thriller. It was more art than entertaining. It was done well for what it was if creating something nerve racking is what you want to watch for 90 minutes.

The poisoning symptoms were unreasonable. Mushrooms make you sick and your stomach violently rejects them. It is hard to die from eating them, but they can make you real ill and sleepy. I didn't like either character and at 40 minutes I wished they would die or become zombies, making the film go in another direction.

Guide: F-word, sex talk, brief computer screen nudity.

Too cheap

[Leofwine_draca · 1/10 · 18 June 2021]

An independent family drama about a couple having a meal. An undercurrent of hatred bubbles throughout eventually resulting in murder. It's simply slow moving and too cheap to work.

Who's Afraid of Pacific Grove?

[captainpass · 8/10 · 27 March 2020]

The premise is an interesting one: What would happen if a disgruntled late-middle age couple poisoned each other one night after not seeing each other for many years? With a debt owed to Albee's "Who's Afraid" (including a nod to the fictional child that was so important to that play/movie), this film engages that premise.

As is the case with "The Grinn" (Kalamane's very fine 2017 entry), this is almost entirely a "one location" film that could very easily be adapted for the stage. That said, this is no point-and-shoot low-budget movie. Kalamane is at his best behind the camera, and he tends toward short depth of field and "bokeh" shots that frame the actors with particular light/reflection sources in the blurred background. In this movie, it gives a low-level warmth to the rather cold, bitter and selfish story that is taking place. (I won't spoil the ending; but it does levitate the material, even if it is somewhat within convention.) His style also allows the camera to linger on particular set pieces that add to the atmosphere.

As for the acting, I thought the two principal players did a great job. The dialogue, particularly in the opening sequences, tended toward that stylized rapid-fire speech patterns that were prominent in American movies in the 1940s and 1950s. I personally found that did not work so well, given the heavy subject matter. However, over time, the speech became more "natural" and less off-putting. This is a story of anger, selfishness, bitterness and lost opportunities. They conveyed that admirably.

In the end, I don't think this one is as "tight" a film as "The Grinn;" but if you enjoy psychological thrillers in the Hitchcock, Aster, Aronofsky vein, this might work for you. Recommended.