Very rarely does such a simple concept (someone believes she’s going to die tomorrow, and everyone she comes into contact with begins to feel they are too) yield such glorious thematic richness. There is the film as a mental health allegory, that while obvious is still sensitive and heartfelt. When presented with mental illness those on the more stable level of the mental health threshold have no idea how to deal with that, but occasionally, a door is opened and they discover their own spiral. Throughout the movie, people are leaving doors wide open, pretty much whenever they walk through then. Open doors allow for dangerous things, physically, mentally, and spiritually. There is also much to be said about the timing of this release, where many who watch are quite aware that but for the grace of god, our death may be speeding down the turnpike. The cast is uniformly excellent, and the film is beautifully shot. It seems to give us some clues to the nature of what’s happening, but not anything concrete. By the end of the film we can at least track the viruses “origin.” But really what says it didn’t just begin spontaneously, with an idea, that we might die tomorrow?
