Review: Seeking Oblivion
Seeking Oblivion follows the story of a young man struggling with depression and a post suicide attempt. Is he broken, or are those around him who are supposed to be helping him actually in need of him more?
After a failed suicide attempt, Jeremy Miller (played by director Brent Baird) is discharged from the hospital and tries to find his place in society.
At the 15-minute mark, I was a bit worried. I’m a movie-lover who welcomes stories and themes surrounding suicide (I even watched the entirety of 13 Reasons Why) but Seeking Oblivion just seemed too goofy in its first act for a film about suicide.
The opening scene draws a comparison to the black-and-white opening of Kill Bill, complete with a spray of blood to transition into the title card. The second scene is of a hospitalized man comedically trying to hide a porn mag under an issue of Chatelaine (an empowering women’s magazine). Like I said, goofy and full of attitude.
It wasn’t until later on in the film that I realized: the story isn’t about suicide. It’s about human flaws, dumb decisions and forgiveness. Seeking Oblivion captures how needlessly awful life is for Jeremy, even when he’s doing his best and doing all the right things.
I grew to really enjoy this film once the story got rolling.
Seeking Oblivion successfully embraces a story about a suicide attempt while not being subservient to it, and I’m impressed by how well the story works. It’s rich in its storytelling and themes, and I recommend it to anyone seeking a challenging film.
More info & links:
- Director: Brent Baird
- Seeking Oblivion – Official Website
- Seeking Oblivion – Facebook
- Seeking Oblivion – Instagram
- Seeking Oblivion screened at the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival in 2021.
Alvin Tsang
Film Reviewer
In his youth Alvin loved watching movies and would find himself spending his lunch money and allowance at the box office. He loved the Matrix and the X-Men films, and somewhere along the way, he discovered a love for horror movies — Hereditary, Midsommar and Mother! being his favourites. He now holds a professional writing diploma, a couple of journalism degrees, and likes to spend his free time reviewing movies on IMDB and for various magazines. @alvinwct
