Content warning: This film comes with a crucial trigger warning regarding suicide. The entirety of the plot revolves around it, so I strongly recommend only watching this film if you feel safe doing so. This review also discusses mental health and suicide.
I had the opportunity to see On the Count of Three back at the virtual Sundance premiere in 2021, and it’s a film that I’ve been thinking about ever since. On the Count of Three was my real introduction to Jerrod Carmichael, or active introduction. By that point, I’ve seen his appearances in Neighbors and Mid90s, but nothing truly by and about Jerrod. Following the gap between the Sundance premiere and its eventual release date, I’ve backtracked and watched his brilliant sitcom, The Carmichael Show and all of his stand-up specials. It was a side effect of his eye-opening Rothaniel special released on April 1st, and I wanted to understand Jerrod’s body of work more. Now watching his work makes more sense, and everything falls into place. The same needs to be said about this brilliant feature directorial debut, in which we watch a day fall into a place that is too familiar to so many of us.
On the Count of Three follows Val (Carmichael) and Kevin (Christopher Abbott) as two friends, living one last day together. Kevin starts the film in an institution after attempting suicide three days prior. Meanwhile, Val is quitting the job he hates after being offered a promotion. Val helps Kevin escape, and the two then make a deal to kill one another as a suicide pact. They decide to live one last day, do everything they can, and want to with no repercussions. Or, as Kevin puts it, “we’re playing with house money.”
The film has been called a “dark comedy” a lot in its promotion, and they truly stretch the term as much as they can. In one moment, you’re aware of the situation you’re watching, and it becomes painful to become a witness as moments fall into place, and then in the next moment, you’re laughing louder than you can imagine. This is a massive testament to Carmichael and Abbott, who can walk along that tightrope of tone with such ease. Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch wrote the screenplay together, and they have a relationship with Jerrod that goes back to his sitcom. They understand each other’s sensibilities, which balance between being extremely honest in an almost heartbreaking way at times but also highly comical.
Visually, Carmichael and Marshall Adams, the film’s cinematographer, love playing with shadows. The film is gorgeously shot as we leave our characters in silhouettes while we question how everything will turn out. The camera flows with such ease as we often find ourselves in tight situations and tight locations because we aren’t afraid of getting up close and personal in this film. I’ve brought up Carmichael’s comedy specials because you can feel the DNA of it throughout the runtime. Constantly battling dark moments with hones and maybe a splash of twisted humour.
By all counts, On the Count of Three is an excellent film with a taboo and extremely triggering subject as its central plot. The “enjoyment” of the film will vary between audiences and even more so depending on each viewer’s relationship with their mental health. For myself, I have felt like both Val and Kevin. The urgency to quit your day job and then your life because of where you are in life compared to where you would like to be, or even the attempt itself from Kevin. I’m far too familiar with these aspects, and they stick with you far after the credits have finished rolling.
That’s what makes the movie have that incredible punch, its attention to realism. The comedy aspect of the film definitely makes you question why you’re laughing while you’re laughing, questioning if it’s something we could or even should laugh at, but sometimes, it’s the only thing we can do to try and move on. Sometimes, it’s the only way for us to continue living.
There is a lot of a love and care that is felt in the film when discussing suicide. It’s never romanticized or glorified — you can feel the weight of the decision. When I watched On the Count of Three, I was in a darker place, and I walked out of the film wondering if I’d be just like Val, having to grow older and still facing suicidal thoughts or potential attempts. On a second watch, I felt the film was more hopeful than I originally thought, another reminder that it may be an ongoing battle, but it’s a battle we’ve won again and again, and again. The fight may continue going, but so will I.
On the Count of Three gives us an incredible script performed by two phenomenal actors, — Abbott is always delivering, but he truly shines in this film — it makes us question our reaction to every scene regardless of the reaction. A few days after watching the film for the first time, I wanted to revisit it, and I thought watching it again would scratch that itch, but it didn’t. I watched the film the next day again and fell in love with parts of the film even more. It’s a film I’m going to be left thinking about for a long time, and will be revisiting repeatedly, once I’m able to do so in Canada.
