A view from the other side of the coffin

As we follow the story in I Grow Tired But I Dare Not Fall Asleep we question the very structure of the narration, wondering who’s telling this story anyway? 

As Ghostpoet goes through his night, things take a turn for the strange when a man accidentally hits him with his car. He’s rushed to the hospital, and then, eventually, to the morgue, the camera following his point of view the entire time. We see Ghostpoet reflected in car mirrors, glasses, and then through his own out-of-body experience as his soul rises slowly above his coffin. 

Saturated with rich reds and blacks, the constricted palate follows the tonal formula for a thriller or horror film, focusing on the shadows as Ghostpoet is carted around the city. The scene shifts with the bridge of the song, while director Thomas James expertly captures the emotional beats within a structure that forces you into someone else’s head.