Some Days are Better than Others

Some Days are Better than Others is a thoughtfully crafted indie narrative directed by indie-rock vocalist Matt McCormick. It starkly contrasts the romanticizing and nostalgic allure of reality TV against the confronting and often mundane trudge of everyday life. Filmed in Portland, Oregon in 2010, this film showcases the lives of seemingly ordinary people, merging their paths and stories in a somber montage and painting a surreal picture of human frailty and resilience.

Carrie Brownstein, co-star of the hit comedy series Portlandia, takes on the role of Katrina, a reality TV enthusiast who is persistently stuck in temp jobs. She embodies a character fighting to achieve a semblance of personal stability and self-esteem. Brownstein’s performance delivers a frank portrayal of Katrina’s continual battle with loneliness and inner conflict, suggesting a desperate need to escape from her mundane life.

James Mercer, of the indie band The Shins, plays the character of Eli, a slacker working at an animal shelter with a soft spot for stray animals. Facing his own set of struggles, he longs for a meaningful connection with his ex-girlfriend only to be encountered with heartbreak and rejection. Mercer’s portrayal of Eli resonates with the audience, his character's raw emotion revealing the intrinsic human longing for love and acceptance.

Veteran actor David Wodehouse reels us in further with his equally impressive role as Otis, an elderly gentleman grappling with loneliness and the haunting fear of obsolescence. His character, working at a vintage camera repair shop, unearths a forgotten roll of film, which ignites a newfound purpose and ignites a poignant exploration into the impermanence of memory and the captivating mystery of other people's lives.

The cinematography of Some Days are Better than Others is one of its strongest assets, with views of the Pacific Northwest that are both stunning and intimate, providing a fittingly scenic backdrop for the personal turmoil of the characters. The movie does not shy away from showing the more mundane aspects of Portland, from its quiet neighborhoods to its industrial warehouses, infusing these landscapes with an uncanny ability to mirror the characters' emotional states - sometimes idyllic, at times bleak.

Some Days are Better than Others is the kind of film that doesn't rely on explosive plots or high-stakes drama. Instead, it moors itself in the exploration of life's quieter, seemingly trivial moments. At its core, it’s a contemplative exploration of loneliness, human connection, and the pursuit of significance in life, cast against the backdrop of life's repetitive routines and simplest pleasures. Each scene, each dialogue, delivers a morsel of purposeful conversation, layered with insightful observations and soliloquies that quietly echo long after the scene has ended.

Timely and touching, Some Days are Better than Others engages its audience with its narrative command, powerful visuals, and compelling character expressions, nudging us to consider the transience, vulnerability, and the often underappreciated beauty of our daily lives. McCormick understands the human condition and, through his film, provides a contemplative mirror onto the parts of life we maybe do a good job of ignoring.

It’s a film that, while reflecting everyday struggle, becomes a tribute to the human spirit with all its eccentricities and vulnerabilities, giving credence to the varied renditions of coping and the ever-present, universal quest for companionship and understanding. Despite focused on the struggles of the protagonists, the movie reassures us with its overarching theme: that while some days are indeed better than others, even the darkest nights dawn into a new day.

At one level, Some Days are Better than Others can be termed an art-house film – one that invites you to immerse yourself in its quietude and lets you perceive life and its consequentialities in more profound ways. This beautifully-woven narrative is sure to strike a chord, especially with those audiences looking for depth and introspection, or even merely a respite from the usual fanfare.