‘Sick of Myself’ is a Pitch-Black Comedy with a Dynamite Lead [Boston Underground Film Festival Review]
Tyler Doupe'
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Kristoffer Borgli’s Sick of Myself (which recently screened at the Boston Underground Film Festival) is an outrageous black comedy that had me in stitches from the get-go. This flick features a top-notch leading lady in Kristine Kujath Thorp. And its darkly comedic portrayal of narcissism really resonates.
Café manager Signe (Thorp) desperately wants to be the center of attention. But when her boyfriend begins to develop a level of notoriety from his artwork, Signe feels threatened and uses a black-market medication to deliberately disfigure her physical features, ultimately forcing herself into the spotlight. Signe loves the attention she gets from her ‘mystery illness’. But is the notoriety she receives worth the toll it takes?
Perhaps the greatest strength of Sick of Myself is the killer lead character. Signe is absolutely fascinating. Her compulsive tendency to stretch the truth, feign illness, or hurt the ones she loves to convince those around her she’s more interesting than she actually is makes her an incredibly entertaining character. Although a well-adjusted person would probably never go to the lengths she does, there’s something almost relatable about her. I think most people have felt like the least exciting or least interesting person in the room at one point or another. And most of us have probably wished for fame or notoriety. But the average person just lives with those feelings, whereas Signe is content to do no such thing. And that distinction makes her journey incredibly fun to watch.
The idea that Signe is so blatant with her excessive thirst leads to some exceptionally comical exchanges. In one such instance, she feigns a peanut allergy while her boyfriend Thomas (Eirik Sæther) is giving a speech because she can’t bear to step aside long enough to let him have his moment. Equally hilarious is when Signe and Thomas are getting intimate and instead of opting for the more conventional dirty talk, she asks him to speak about how worried he’s been about her mysterious illness. And she starts getting gratification from it. If that wasn’t hilarious (and weird) enough, she then asks him to describe what he pictures her funeral would be like and who would have been axed from the guest list as a punitive measure. That entire sequence had me busting a gut. It’s so peculiar but undeniably comical at the same time.
The flick works as well as it does for a few reasons. The first of which is a comically macabre script from writer/director Kristoffer Borgli. But what really made the film for me was Kristine Kujath Thorp’s turn as Signe. Her deadpan delivery and awkward presence make the character fascinating and fun to watch.
The humor is rather dark and very, very dry. And on that basis, Sick of Myself will likely appeal to a niche demographic. But I am definitely the target audience for this kind of farcical humor. The film is very much my cup of tea. And I think anyone who digs dark, absurdist comedy will find something to enjoy about the film.
As for what doesn’t quite work, Sick of Myself over-indulges in Signe’s delusions to the point that it disrupts the pacing at times. There are a handful of instances where she daydreams she is getting the attention she so desperately craves, only to reset back to reality. And while it’s amusing the first time, seeing that process repeat itself throughout becomes a bit tedious by the end of the film.
My only other complaint is that the third act loses a bit of steam because the premise is a bit thin. The entire outing is based around Signe’s narcissism and hinges upon the lengths to which she will go just to stay in the spotlight. That setup works remarkably well for the first two acts but I will admit I was slightly fatigued by the lack of narrative developments at the onset of the third act. However, with that said, I still enjoyed every last minute and I laughed early and often.
Stay tuned to Dread Central in the coming weeks and months for the latest on when and where you can watch Sick of Myself.
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‘Sick of Myself’
Summary
‘Sick of Myself’ is a farcically macabre effort with strong performances across the board.
