Operator

I'm a sucker for truly original stories and also am a fan of Mae Whitman, so I was happy I found this gem of a movie. It's a story about change and the challenges it brings, the gray area that's often found between need and love, and addiction.

The main characters are the young married couple, Joe and Emily. Both have careers, routines, friends, and a seemingly solid relationship with one another. But when Emily agrees to be the voice for an AI system Joe is programming for a healthcare client, he becomes addicted to his creation and eventually replaces his wife with it. (Of course, the movie does a much better job showing this progression than I just have.)

If I were writing a paper about it for a film or English class, I'd have a heyday discussing what all this symbolizes-all the tasks and distractions and technologies that are easily accessible and can lead us on paths that take us further away from What Really Matters.

With Joe, we get to know a character who is plagued by panic attacks and he needs Emily to help him. Emily is that voice of reason, that whoosh of calm, that warm embrace I think everybody needs. I found myself wanting (someone like) her in my life, and I got angry at Joe for letting her go-Does he not realize how truly amazing she is!?!

Not only is the story creative and relatable, the acting and cinematography are fantastic. I loved the graphs that would pop up from time to time, and the music was spot-on. I really enjoyed it.

I ended up enjoying the film because I come from the tech industry and I am generally interested in the themes explored. I felt the acting / dialogue / cinematography was a bit mediocre.

The main theme throughout the movie was the question of whether a person can be reduced to a collection of data and statistics. The main character Joe, believes this to be true, however most people resist this notion and find it uncomfortable. I really enjoyed the exploration of this idea and its effects on people. In the end, Joe's endless statistics and self quantifying make him so rigid that he is terrified of change, and he decides he must overcome this.

Not sure the film makers quite nailed the ending, but still enjoyed the film.

I was browsing through Netflix last night after watching the latest Amy Schumer special (and being disappointed) and found this movie. I saw the description and was immediately intrigued. Without giving too much away, Joe is a programmer that uses his wife's voice and likeness for a telephone answering system for a client. What results is resentment on the part of his wife, Emily, as he seems to become attached to his creation (you'll see what you mean when you watch it). It was really touching to see how great of a partner Emily is and how ignorant Joe is to his wife's needs. It ends on a happy note though and if nothing else, I fell in love with Mae Whitman by the end of the movie. And at the very least, it seems like a cautionary tale for how technology can consume you or sometimes replace real human connections. If it means anything, I've been thinking about the movie since I finished watching it late last night. Definitely recommend.

It's an interestingly unique idea and it starts brilliantly.

Then it totally falls down half way through. It doesn't know what it is, what it wants or where it's going. Then we get to know. But it's not well-flagged. Can't say much more without the spoiler tag but it just doesn't hang together well.

Some observations:

The mother is annoying . Really! No sympathy for the character at all and, more annoyingly, she has absolutely no impact on the storyline.

In an attempt to add 'pace' there are a few long sequences which don't mean or do anything.

And they throw in a little past-life psychology for one of the main characters, in an attempt to add weight.

The actors are fine - Mae Whitman in particular is brilliant!

Potential, potential potential. Squandered, squandered, squandered.

Yep, (co)writer/director. I really should have learned by now but was momentarily wrong-footed because the director's name appears second on the writer credits. Oy vey.

As a movie, it's vastly overrated and rather under whelming. Shame.

Mae gives quite a solid performance in this movie that just never gets off the ground. The problem is, the male lead is completely self obsessed and oblivious to the effects is words and actions have on other. This renders the viewer indifferent to any problems he may encounter, and no sympathy can be garnered. There's a few powerful and delightful scenes, and the supporting cast is certainly competent, but overall the scenarios they're put in and how they relate to each other comes off as not quite genuine. It's never made clear how long they were married to each other, but how she could stand even one month of his constant and unreasonable demands is confounding. Did she not know him at all before accepting his proposal? His relationship is completely unnecessary and a distraction this film didn't benefit from in any manner. Although I did watch it to the end and enjoyed moments here and there, I had to wonder why when it finally ended. Probably because I could watch Mae in any role, as she's such a captivating personality. The theatre skits were not too bad except for one.