By Design

Name: By Design
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Comedy
Released: February 13, 2026
Duration: 92 min
Rating: 63

2026

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Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

Music Box Films | Release Date: February 13, 2026 | Not Rated

Summary: Upon seeing a gorgeous chair in a showroom, Camille (Juliette Lewis) realizes that she truly envies the life of this perfect piece of furniture. If only she could be someone’s favorite thing. When she and the chair swap forms, Camille learns that she is better liked as an inanimate object than she was as a person: her mother (Betty Buckley)Upon seeing a gorgeous chair in a showroom, Camille (Juliette Lewis) realizes that she truly envies the life of this perfect piece of furniture. If only she could be someone’s favorite thing. When she and the chair swap forms, Camille learns that she is better liked as an inanimate object than she was as a person: her mother (Betty Buckley) finds her to be a better listener, and her best friends (Samantha Mathis and Robin Tunney) enjoy a newfound, friction-free rapport. As the chair, Camille is unable to speak or move and winds up in the hands of Olivier (Mamoudou Athie), a minimalist bachelor who gradually becomes romantically fixated on his elegant new possession.… Expand

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Drama, Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 92 min

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Critic Reviews

Jourdain Searles

Jan 31, 2025

The insights and artistic inclinations that populate Kramer’s work aren’t for everyone, and there’s a good chance By Design won’t connect with most viewers. But the alienating nature of the premise is what makes it fascinating, pushing us to question how we want to be seen and experienced as people in the world. Read full review

Chase Hutchinson

Jan 27, 2025

Rather than serve as a shallowly classical body swap story that provides a moral lesson about her growing to appreciate the life she had, the aftermath of this decision is more thematically complicated and engaging. It’s also sincere, tapping into anxieties about being not just liked or even loved, but truly seen. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Peyton Robinson

Feb 13, 2026

Amanda Kramer’s “By Design” is an oddball, almost-love story that has more to say about human dejection and desire than a lot of more conventional tales. Read full review

Katie Rife

Jan 27, 2025

It has a wacky premise involving a woman swapping places with a chair, but the uncompromising consumerist satire By Design is more performance art than camp classic. Read full review

Screen Rant Mae Abdulbaki

Jan 27, 2025

It’s less of a straightforward narrative and more of an experimental one. But it’s not so outlandish that it’s inaccessible. Read full review

William Repass

Feb 7, 2026

By forcing us to identify with its largely comatose protagonist, By Design arouses resentment in order to shake us out of torpor. Read full review

Collider Matt Donato

Jan 27, 2025

Kramer plays with surreal department store catalog visuals and body-swap quirkiness, leaning heavily on interpretive dance to convey meaning. There's nothing like it, but with such extravagant boldness comes risks, and they don’t always pay off. Read full review

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