Movie

By Design

2026 · 91 min

A strange, dreamlike arthouse curiosity that plays its absurd premise deadpan, leaving you unsettled and quietly amused in equal measure.

Directed by: Amanda Kramer
Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Starring: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Samantha Mathis

Tagline: Have you heard about the movie where Juliette Lewis plays a chair?
Overview: A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

Directed by: Amanda Kramer
Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Starring: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Samantha Mathis

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: absurdstrength 3 of 3
whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
satiricalstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: identity
isolation
gender
obsession
media
Places: big city
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence none
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	2
Humour	6
Realism	3
Romance	4
Tension	3
Darkness	5
Complexity	7
Emotional weight	5

Titles like By Design

Movie

Kate Berlant: Parmesan

2026

A wry, restless hour of alt-comedy that drifts and loops, rewarding close attention with odd, self-aware detours.

Absurd, whimsical · about identity and isolation

Via: absurd
whimsical
identity
isolation
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 62 min

Details

Kate Berlant: ParmesanHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Night Screening

2025

A slow, dreamlike drift through a cinema of the mind, where reality and fantasy blur in a quiet, absurd melancholy.

Absurd, whimsical, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: absurd
whimsical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 110 min

Details

The Night ScreeningHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

She Only Eats Meat

2026

A chaotic, darkly funny plunge into two women's messy inner lives, equal parts absurd spectacle and unsettling bite.

Absurd, satirical · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: absurd
satirical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 72 min

Details

She Only Eats MeatHidden from your suggestions.

Short film

Trinkets and Dark Thoughts

2016

A dreamy, offbeat drift through a hungover morning, mixing absurd comedy with a quiet, melancholic ache.

Absurd, slow-burn · about identity and isolation

Via: absurd
identity
isolation
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 27 min

Details

Trinkets and Dark ThoughtsHidden from your suggestions.

Short film

Alchemy

2026

A quirky, fast little comedy that turns an absurd bodily discovery into a citywide mess, playful and a bit naughty.

Absurd, whimsical · about identity and isolation

Via: absurd
whimsical
identity
isolation
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 13 min

Details

AlchemyHidden from your suggestions.

Short film

Dreamboat

2026

A dreamy, off-kilter drift through a lonely city where longing and absurdity blur into something strange and oddly tender.

Absurd, whimsical · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: absurd
whimsical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 24 min

Details

DreamboatHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

It Must Be Heaven

2019

A quiet, deadpan drift through strange cities, where small absurdities quietly echo displacement and belonging.

Whimsical, satirical, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: whimsical
satirical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 103 min

Details

It Must Be HeavenHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Two Rémi, Two

2015

A quirky, low-key French comedy where an ordinary life is disrupted by a doppelganger, blending dry wit with existential unease.

Absurd, whimsical, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: absurd
whimsical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 62 min

Details

Two Rémi, TwoHidden from your suggestions.

Short film

Sometimes You're Such a Darn Egg

2023

A quirky, surreal short that mixes absurd humour with a quiet, introspective look at bodily autonomy and social pressure.

Absurd, whimsical · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: absurd
whimsical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 16 min

Details

Sometimes You're Such a Darn EggHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Blue Night

2015

A breezy, silly body-swap romp that coasts on broad gags and gentle gender-role teasing rather than real stakes.

Absurd · about identity and gender

Via: absurd
identity
gender
Pacing: brisk
Attention: easy-watch
Runtime: 95 min

Details

Blue NightHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Filetisierung

2011

A playful, perplexing experiment that mixes philosophical musings with sensual imagery, rewarding those who embrace its oddity.

Absurd, satirical, slow-burn · about identity · nonlinear

Via: absurd
satirical
identity
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding

Details

FiletisierungHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Carrefur Virgin

2022

A drifting, deadpan hangout that feels like overheard fragments of someone's private thoughts, funny and quietly unsettling in equal measure.

Absurd, whimsical, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: absurd
whimsical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 80 min

Details

Carrefur VirginHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres: comedy, fantasy, romance
Directed by: Amanda Kramer
Written by: Amanda Kramer
Starring: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Alisa Torres, Clifton Collins Jr., Keir Gilchrist, Madison McKinley
Music: Bryan Scary, Giulio Carmassi
Cinematography: Patrick Meade Jones
Runtime: 91 min
Country: United States of America
Languages: English

TMDB IMDb Letterboxd Wikipedia Wikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.

By Design

How it feels

More like this

Titles like By Design

Where to watch in the UK

Details