South by Southwest Film Festival 2025 – In the endearing and thought-provoking short film Retirement Plan, Domhnall Gleeson voices the middle-aged Ray, who has a lot of plans for retirement. Ray wants to travel, write poetry, craft a great meatball, and obtain a dog and a cat. The problem with all of these plans is that Ray imagines doing them instead of actually living his life.

There’s a real poetry and lyrical quality to the short, directed by John Kelly, who co-authored the script with Tara Lawall. Gleeson voices over the animation and Ray’s various fantasies. A lot of the sentences begin with the simple phrase, “I will,” before Ray envisions the next thing he’ll do in retirement and the next thing and the next thing. It creates an oddly soothing quality to the short, a rhythm. It almost sounds like one of those deep meditation videos.

Ray’s retirement plans range from the more mundane, such as finally conquering that pile of books, to the more profound, like nailing the right words on his deathbed. There’s also humor too. Near the conclusion, Ray says he’ll scare the pants off of his sixth-grade bully.  The short moves through this ever-growing to-do list quite flawlessly.

Yet, there’s something deeper going on with this work. Ray is indeed overstimulated and ponders more than he acts. The message seems to be instead of creating massive to-do lists, start now. Live life immediately. Don’t wait. Ray ages as the short goes on, and you get a sense he never fully lived his life. It’s a powerful message, told in a beautiful and haunting fashion.

Retirement Plan really tugs at the heartstrings. It’s a simple premise told in an awe-striking manner, combining Gleeson’s voice with great animation. The film will remind viewers to go on living now. Don’t wait. That’s a familiar, but always resonant message.