By Design

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. By Design expands on that premise with a broader sense of scale and atmosphere, framing its story through the expectations of a comedy, drama, sci-fi picture while leaving room for character pressure, reversals, and escalation. The film is associated with Amanda Kramer, produced by Jacob Agger, Miranda Bailey, Sarah Winshall, Natalie Whalen, Jake Agger, and shaped for audiences in English. With a release noted as 2026 and a runtime of 1h 32m, it appears designed to balance momentum with enough breathing room for the central conflict to build in stages rather than relying on a single hook. Smudge Films, Cold Iron Pictures and Music Box Films position the project as a title meant to stand out through mood, performance, and genre identity, while the listed rating of an unrated or not-yet-announced classification suggests the level of intensity or accessibility being targeted. Whether the story leans toward spectacle, suspense, emotion, or a mix of all three, the available information points to a film focused on sustained engagement: establishing stakes clearly, deepening tension as new complications emerge, and driving toward a payoff that matches the promise of the setup. Taken together, the synopsis and production details suggest a movie intended to deliver more than a simple premise. By Design aims to create an experience in which tone, pacing, and character perspective matter as much as plot mechanics, allowing viewers to settle into its world before the pressure tightens. Even where some official information remains limited, the project reads as a deliberate genre piece with enough identity to invite curiosity, setting up a film that could appeal both to casual viewers and to audiences already drawn to this kind of story.