Operator

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.

This movie is amazing. Beautifully written and acted.

Sadly it suffers from being put in the "comedy" genre like Lost In Translation and Birdman. Yes they are funny in parts, but ultimately the story is so sad it rips your heart out and does a little tap dance on it.

That said, this dark (and sometimes funny) tale is really interesting, and I did wonder which direction the film was headed in.

It was like a very long episode of Black Mirror. So if you like your viewing beautiful, emotional, moving, hard to watch and a little bit depressing at the end ... This bad boy is for you!

Honestly - It's REALLY good. Enjoy :)

So here's the deal. The movie was filmed beautifully. The characters portrayed each other well. But the movie was just so sad. And the kind of sad that is not necessary. I feel what I was watching "The Lobster" and the highlight of that movie was a dog who used to be a human getting killed. Geese I liked the contrast of the comedy being actually sad but give us a break dammit how dark must a person's soul be to write this. It just leaves you feeling like everything is going to sh*t and maybe that's the point but man it says COMEDY under genre. It was just way too much for me. I watched it and I enjoyed it and I understood it but I kind of wish I haven't because it was so depressing, even though it's perfectly fine and unique artistically. I just don't know what to think of this movie anymore. It depicted mental health problems, it depicted being human and making selfish mistakes, but it also depicted unrealistic moments at times. We come to the movies to relate or to escape. I believe this made us relate to the wrong side of us. There was a 10 second somewhat happy ending that I won't spoil but the whole thing makes me question who did this movie do good for besides the people involved in the creating process.

And a caveat: I wish we didn't always see mental disorders on such opposite ends of the spectrum. They either depict a very positive or a very negative picture. As you might have guessed this movie did the latter. I think we can do better. Also I believe that the character most likely has anxiety disorder though it cannot be said for certain without eliminating other illnesses. It is important to note however that the "cause" of autism is not known. There's no such thing. The mother drinking alcohol while pregnant might increase the risk but that's it. Anyway I'm gonna cry myself to sleep now and try to forget this movie.

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.

How does this have such an average to low rating, as opposed to most other overly-polished "comedies"? Do people not get the dark humor of Operator, is that it?

One of the things I personally value most in any release (whether it's movies, music or whatever), is originality. Originality is definitely something Operator has, and at the same time pretty contemporary. It also has very pronounced and vivid characters, without being too try-hard. The main character manages to display autism almost perfectly. All that, on (from the looks of it) a pretty low budget.

This movie deserves much more praise than it's getting.