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By Design

Play trailer Poster for By Design Feb 2026,  1h 32m,  Comedy/ Drama/ Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 74% 57 Reviews Tomatometer - - Popcornmeter
74% Tomatometer 57 Reviews Popcornmeter
A woman (Juliette Lewis) swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair in a surreal, deadpan comedy from director Amanda Kramer.
By Design

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Amanda Kramer's delicate creation intellectualizes the absurdity of objectification, yet this film won't sit still in the audience's mind and that's By Design.

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Critics Reviews

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Marina Ashioti Little White Lies Oct 13, 2026
4/5
Even a utilitarian object can never entirely be what it means to us. Kramer turns that abstraction into something potent, humorous and faintly uncanny. Go to Full Review
Rob Silverman Ascher Chicago Reader Feb 24, 2026
By Design is gorgeous—particularly with Sophie Hardeman’s costuming—but possibly too loopy for some. If you like it strange, By Design will give you a lot to sit with. Go to Full Review
Coleman Spilde Salon.com Feb 20, 2026
Sstick around, and you will find that Kramer’s take on the subgenre is far more fascinating and pertinent to life outside the movie theater than most of its peers. Go to Full Review
Jennie Kermode Eye for Film Oct 16, 2026
4.5/5
Nobody seems to notice that this unresponsive woman is not in fact paying attention to them, and Kramer spins this out impressively, building drama from a mixture of monologuing and imagination Go to Full Review
Stephen Silver The SS Ben Hecht Jul 23, 2026
That doesn’t sound like the premise of an especially good movie. But somehow, it is. Go to Full Review
Jeffrey M. Anderson Common Sense Media Mar 6, 2026
3/5
This absurdist, experimental film is an odd experience and won't be to everyone's tastes, but its themes of objectification and possession are interesting, and it certainly never gets dull. Go to Full Review
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Cast & Crew

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Amanda Kramer

Director

Juliette Lewis

Camille

Mamoudou Athie

Olivier

Samantha Mathis

Lisa

Robin Tunney

Irene

Alisa Torres

Marta

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By Design

By Design (2025) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A woman (Juliette Lewis) swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair in a surreal, deadpan comedy from director Amanda Kramer.
Director
Amanda Kramer
Producer
Jacob Agger, Miranda Bailey, Sarah Winshall, Natalie Whalen, Jake Agger
Screenwriter
Amanda Kramer
Distributor
Music Box Films
Production Co
Smudge Films, Cold Iron Pictures
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 13, 2026, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 17, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA)
$32.5K
Runtime
1h 32m
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