The savvy smarts within don't quite sustain the running time and, much like its protagonist, the film becomes transparent in its motives and sentimentality.

Thirlby gives a good performance as someone who finds it easier to remain a non-person than to make any effort to fix her life. But the more Holly comes into view, the blander her character becomes.

Sadly, the answers that emerge from this crisis fail to give any satisfying literal explanation to the film's central metaphor - and the metaphor itself seems misplaced.

Myers spins a unique story in Above the Shadows, exploring grief and identity in an almost comic book-like way.