Spike Jonze is a director known for over-the-top high concept music videos and yet his films are always so emotional and subtle.
Many scenes in this film moved me yet I can't put my finger on why. It captures the loneliness of a big city, but how just a few friends and a sweetheart can cure that empty feeling. Everything is kept so simple as to be universal.
The look of the robots is very retro and ironic. They look older than the computer I am writing this on by maintaining the boxy gray look of a computer from the late 90s. In many ways this short seems to take place in LA during the 90s. Everything seems dated.
I won't say much about the relationship at the center of the story but I do wonder if it is meant to be dysfunctional or not. Let's just say it reaches a very one-sided place in terms of giving more than you get in a relationship. The ending is moving but also a bit creepy when you consider the reality of what has been sacrificed to save a casual lover.
