By Design is a 2025 American drama film written and directed by Amanda Kramer. It stars Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Melanie Griffith, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, and Udo Kier.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2025. The film was released in theaters on February 13, 2026.
Contents
Premise
A woman swaps bodies with a chair.
Production
In September 2024, it was announced Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Udo Kier, Clifton Collins Jr. and Betty Buckley had joined the cast of the film, with Amanda Kramer writing and directing. Filming took place in Los Angeles.
Release
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2025. In August 2025, Music Box Films acquired distribution rights to the film.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of 54 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Amanda Kramer's delicate creation intellectualizes the absurdity of objectification, yet this film won't sit still in the audience's mind and that's By Design." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 13 critics, which the site labels as "generally favorable" reviews.