After a quiet debut at Sundance last year, Sometimes I Think About Dying is getting so little fanfare it’s almost criminal. The melancholy drama/romance stars Daisy Ridley as a by-the-book, self-proclaimed “uninteresting” office worker named Fran. Fran spends her days toiling away in her cubicle while intrusive thoughts about dying in all sorts of creative ways creep into her brain. When the office welcomes a new employee named Robert (Dave Merheje), Fran finds those intrusive thoughts taken over by mental images of him and their budding relationship. Not one to stray too far from her routine, Fran struggles to let someone new into her life. It takes a sad run-in with a retired coworker (a beautiful performance by Marcia DeBonis) to put things into perspective.

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Sometimes I Think About Dying captures the quiet banality of day-to-day life with an authenticity that doesn’t come around often. As someone who doesn’t typically gravitate toward romantic dramas, I found the film to be a refreshingly sweet and relatable addition to the genre in which stories tend to be sappy and a lot to digest. Daisy Ridley really has a shot at filling the 30-something indie film queen niche that is mostly lacking right now – and I hope she leans into it. Sometimes I Think About Dying isn’t only one of the most relatable titles of 2023 – but one of the best independent films of the year, as well.