THE PURCHASE | Omeleto
Фильм және анимация
A mysterious robot is sent to an unhappy couple.
THE PURCHASE is used with permission from Patrick Townsend. Learn more at patricktownsend.com.au.
Liz and Shane are a couple that share a house, but not much else anymore. They've recently hit some conflict, with Shane being hostile and refusing to talk to Liz, and Liz is left on her own emotionally to deal with her feelings.
When their smart device's algorithmically-driven automatic shopping service sends Liz a very questionable purchase, the item dredges up past conflicts, old grievances and current discontent. As the purchase proves more and more difficult to send back -- or keep quiet -- Liz and Shane must confront the simmering discontent in their relationship and decide what to do next.
Directed and written by Patrick Townsend, this sci-fi short is both an incisive, intriguing examination of how algorithms could penetrate the more private and emotional corners of our daily lives and a portrait of a disintegrating marriage falling apart from resentment and an inability to communicate honestly. Even with certain moments of levity, it's thought-provoking, well-crafted and intelligently wrought on both accounts, making for an unusually emotionally resonant cautionary tale.
The world-building is smart, subtle and witty, and the central premise of an unexpected purchase sent from an automatic shopping service is executed well here, essentially "leveling up" elements we're already familiar with -- smart devices, drones, eerily intuitive shopping services -- with inventive and judicious special effects.
The excellent storytelling has some fun with the shopping service's automatic purchase for Liz, which is a lifelike robot companion named Ted, who is supposed to provide intimacy on all levels. As Ted, actor Bruce Guo hits the comic flourishes well, with an eager-to-please frankness, and he surprisingly understands Liz well and shares many of her tastes, thanks to the algorithm that sent it to Liz.
The heart of the film, though, is the disintegrating relationship between Liz and Shane, who are still struggling with a betrayal. The past information has been woven into the storytelling throughout, but the arrival of Ted forces the pair to confront not just the cheating that happened, but the conditions of the relationship that led to the breaking point. Ted's personalized programming as Liz's ideal companion also forces them to face what both have been missing in their relationship. Actors Taylor Buoro and Mitch Wright as Liz and Shane convey the raw, wounded vulnerability as husband and wife confront their deepest feelings, and the dialogue is both painfully intimate and realistic. It's a "State of the Union" discussion that they've avoided, but Ted's arrival has forced their hand.
Smart, well-crafted and deeply felt, THE PURCHASE ends on a heartwrenching note, one that demonstrates its deepest insight into the intersection of technology and human life. Algorithms have become more embedded in everyday life, thanks to our interactions with smartphones and other connected devices, and they have become ever more perceptive about human behaviors and desires. They make shopping convenient; they serve us the entertainment we might like; they suggest potential dates; they help optimize our health. But the mysteries and inner workings of human attachment, in the form of love and partnership, still elude them -- as they have eluded humans themselves for as long as they've existed.
Пікірлер: 242
The book that Elizabeth was reading in the opening shots was The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe. It's a short story (and the name of the short story collection it was published with in 1959) about a boy who turns to long distance running to cope with social isolation and bleak prospects for the future. It's great how this blink-and-you'll-miss-it detail immediately sets the tone of the video.
@Toni-yx4sb
Жыл бұрын
Going back to watch. :)
@ACRUZ-xw9qe
Жыл бұрын
This could make an amazing movie!!
@TotalDec
Жыл бұрын
Nerd
@TechBearSeattle
Жыл бұрын
@@TotalDec - You say that like it's a bad thing.
Hey everyone! Patrick here, writer/director. Really thrilled to see your responses and takeaways. We made this just three years ago so its awesome to get it out to a wider audience and see it connect! 🎉Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and watch and support, really appreciate you supporting short filmmakers!! 😊 ❤ Happy to answer any questions too if you have em.
@ppppp524
Жыл бұрын
This one was really good. The characters were so complete and nuanced for just ten minutes. You communicated like an entire movie's worth of character in a small fraction of the time. Definitely scratches the Black Mirror itch. Good job
@sgold989
Жыл бұрын
Congratulations!!! Outstanding job!!
@Paddytfilm
Жыл бұрын
@@ppppp524 Thank you!
@sarvene1798
Жыл бұрын
Wonderful film! How did you go about creating the robot?
@laurynandreaa
Жыл бұрын
Beautifully made
During watching this and immediately afterward, I was thinking of the characters. Good acting, the lady is lovely. Then a little while later, I thought about Alexa being the somewhat evil provocateur. It was Alexa who sent the male robot to the female character in the first place - all for the goal of them buying all the stuff that she lists off as upcoming predictive purchases in the end...
@katiekawaii
Жыл бұрын
Ooh, you're totally right! Good insight.
The irony of the story is that a robot was able to listen to her, not a husband... another interesting moment is when Alexa can't predict their future but has a list of future purchases (wine, ice cream, new bed, travel ticket...) Thank you for a great film!👏
@YoN1187
Жыл бұрын
But Alexa also mentions a 'single room' available in a hotel. A subtle answer
@gemstar7286
Жыл бұрын
@@YoN1187 Yeah i noticed Alexa saying "single room", she knows they'll separate and divorce soon. And it's tragic that a robot can listen more than a human husband.
Predicting their future...or engineering it?🤔 Great, well made, well acted, thought provoking short.
I like the lift / weight ratio of that delivery drone... :)
Such behaviour, as the husband's, is typical of a narcissistic toxic person. They do the bullying and then they think THEY are the victims. But that's nothing a little therapy wouldn't fix.
@jamiejoygatto
Жыл бұрын
Narcissism is a personality disorder, not a mental illness. It can't really be fixed. It's how the person thinks and feels. There's no changing that.
@JM-vj7we
Жыл бұрын
Agreed but no help for a true narcissist. ❤
@oneof134
Жыл бұрын
Therapy doesn't on on Narcissists
@jamiejoygatto
Жыл бұрын
@@oneof134 it's better for the person having any sort of relationship to get out and they go to therapy!!
@KutWrite
Жыл бұрын
Wait... does therapy actually fix anything besides the therapist's balance sheet?
This was really good by the way, great job by all the actors wonderful script and even a solid ending! A short film with a real story and an actual ending hooray
@clivesmith9377
Жыл бұрын
All short films have an actual ending. Most times they even include the viewer, thinking about the ending! 😉
@bobg5823
Жыл бұрын
@@clivesmith9377 lol i wonder who left him or her just saying
@voxii_13
Жыл бұрын
@@clivesmith9377 Open endings are not actual endings. Which 99% of short films are, open endings. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just don't skirt around the truth.
@rickbuell8996
Жыл бұрын
The ending could go in any direction... John Carpenter, Twilight Zone, or some weird happy ending....
I'd prefer the robot, he seems really nice!
The thumbnail is nightmare fuel
Wow! There was so much depth in every interaction - very well written!
Was a pleasure to help out on this production with the stills shots , fun project and everyone helpful towards a common cause and fun film .
Pretty good one. They better not auto charge that android to the account! Looks expensive!
@hannahdargan6079
Жыл бұрын
Ha😂. You know they did. 😮
This is pretty good. For a moment I almost thought the husband was going to go abusive or something. Bravo.
@kirin9777
Жыл бұрын
"Almost" Lol, Nah. That IS abusive.
Great special effects on the robot face! Creepy. Also, I’ll take 1 Ted please. ✨🤖👨🏽🦲✨
@resolecca
Жыл бұрын
Lol
@OBieMavuso
Жыл бұрын
@@resolecca 😂
Who else thought that the husband was going to be in the box when the drone came to pick it up?
@BrycenStone
Жыл бұрын
That would have been awesome.
@JM-vj7we
Жыл бұрын
@@BrycenStone 😂
@Armitage112a
Жыл бұрын
**looks for Stephen King in the writing credits**
The robot popping out of the box scared the bejesus out of me.
I really wish this was longer! This was brilliant. Loved it!
That quadcopter wouldn't work at all with that package underneath it. I always thought that a van with a small delivery robot would be better if you really want to take humans out if delivery jobs.
@odintwo
Жыл бұрын
*Hexacopter
@KutWrite
Жыл бұрын
You mean "It wouldn't work with today's technology."
😢😢😢 deaf ears, he is an insecure of the connection he wasn’t able to create with his wife. Amazing acting, this was very good it reflect today’s relationship problems.
The husband was a typical guy - doesn't want to be in the relationship but yet doesn't want her to have anyone or anything else. This is unfortunately the weird mindset of too many guys - the partner is just property 😭
@aarons7975
Жыл бұрын
The women aren't all that much better. They come to the table with an impossible shopping list of all the things the guy better be / do / have / bla bla. Both are so self absorbed that the destruction of anything resembling any sort of life with someone else is all but assured.
@bigcityjunglecatenvisageth1422
Жыл бұрын
@@aarons7975: Well IDK, maybe there are some women out there who are this overly fussy and particular, but the description does not fit "me" at all. In-fact I was the complete opposite. For many years I accepted the most terrible men, completely without prejudice of their bad/awful ways and habits. And the majority were damned abusive and harmful to me, and had zero respect or even one iota of regard for me. But since then I decided that I needed to set ground rules.
Normal people: This film is scary, that robot is creepy and looks ready to attack at the smallest glitch. Me: This film is scary, those humans are creepy and look ready to attack at the smallest emotion.
I enjoyed this. Thank you to the folks involved. Clever and thoughtful.
Haha, love the angle that all that algorithm power isn't working to help anyone, just perfectly predict what they need to buy ... read between the lines, predict the future.
@aarons7975
Жыл бұрын
not predict the future, machine it. Push items and events to form that future. All this 'predictive' this and that is just more manipulation. We predicted you need this. ooh well... then i guess I DO NEED IT !! derp...
@jasonbennett7002
Жыл бұрын
@@aarons7975 Product sales aside did you feel the machinery in this story was forcing an outcome that wouldn't have overwise occurred?
I would rather keep ted around then that jealous, gas lighting guy
@alimfuzzy
Жыл бұрын
Jealous, yes, but where was the gas lighting?
@shivanshna7618
Жыл бұрын
I mean if i come home and my husband is with sexbot i would loose my mind too lol
@resolecca
Жыл бұрын
I agree she is definitely upgrading
@GratefulDaughter1
Жыл бұрын
@@alimfuzzy he was gaslighting by telling her she doesn't want to make the marriage work and making her feel bad about something he is creating in his head. Brilliant short film.
Yep, this is definitely our future
@Muchjoy..
Жыл бұрын
Perhaps but it does seem rather lonely..
that first shot was such hard 1990s paramount pictures nostalgia.
Absolutely brilliant. The visuals are wonderful, the story is wonderful. This is thoroughly enjoyable in all aspects.
@aarons7975
Жыл бұрын
It's also quite despairing, because THIS is the way our society is heading. Robots to do this, robots to do that, these kids today can't wipe their own asses w/o some sort of siri hand holding for them. Do you think we have a future, well ask the robot, because im too much of a loser to do much anything myself. The robot concurs, now let's both go into our rooms and have a good session of self loathing.
I like the way they used the trope of the subservient Asian fantasy, but instead of using an Asian woman as the "perfect mate", a male varient was used. At a deeper look, its the ability to communicate and serve the needs of the partner that are most important, not the race or gender.
@baintreachas
Жыл бұрын
sorry, i don't think i understand- the robot was an asian male? and this proves race is irrelevant?
If this is Amazon's predictive ordering they have 37 slightly different hdmi cables and 43 different books about financial stability because Amazon thought they wanted to start collecting after ordering the first one.
Those eyes aren't cutting it. I'll ask it to make its eyes smaller.
What a fantastic little short. Great work all round. Shorts can be undatisfying sometimes but this is a beauty
The fact that the robot said she needs a hug and got it wrong shows how even the best of a human can get it wrong too
@ABHav0k55
Жыл бұрын
No. It was showing that even a robot could see that she needed a hug at that moment but from her husband, not a robot. At least that was my interpretation of it
@ElaMongrella
Жыл бұрын
I think she did need the hug. She just didn't want to let the robot hug her in front of her husband and cause even more fighting over that.
@amazinggrace5692
Жыл бұрын
She did need a hug. He got that right.
These omeleto films have more substance, and are more captivating than the rubbish mainstream movies that I've been watching from Hollywood. Much respect. Also, I love that the focus is on making a great quality film and not empowerment of some demographic.
Like so many of these short stories, this one could have expanded far beyond.
@Paddytfilm
Жыл бұрын
Glad to hear you feel that way. 😊We’re actually working this into a feature!
I thought the robot was gonna terminate the husband. Then walk of into the sunset with the wife.
Anyone else get that Alexa was prepared for appropriate purchases no matter which way the couple decided to proceed?
@eggmayonnaise325
7 ай бұрын
Her predicted purchases were based on them splitting up! Ice cream and wine (for heartbroken wife), single room at a hotel (for husband who's been kicked out) etc...
I say she stay with the robot! LOL! She'd have foot rubs for the rest of her life! ;)
Yeah that's the future
Wow. Good one - hits target two ways at once: human relationships and push marketing.
Very good story. Awesome actors! Keep up the great work.
Wow, seriously unique and the CGI is amazing, bravo!
Spot on. Kudos!
Love the Alexa options ending...
Alexa please find the nearest Divorce lawyers🤔
My top five (other than this one): Riviera Paradise, Crossfire, Tightrope, Pride and Joy, Couldn't Stand the Weather. Next after that: Lenny, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Voodoo Child, Life Without You, Rude Mood, Scuttle Buttin', Look at Little Sister...and several others.
That creepy looking robot was scary
Heart breaking
@Muchjoy..
Жыл бұрын
Right..🙄🤧😔
@supportvawa2213
Жыл бұрын
Yes, so much depth - I thought it would just be silly or about anger and jealousy issues..... it's like the movie Lars And The Real Girl - I watched it hoping for lighthearted laughs but it ended up tugging at my heart strings! (I'm a widow)
Great story & acting! This is my favorite so far this year. 👏👏
She should have kept the robot and sent off the husband 😂
Very well done!
Great film!!
And THAT is why I will NEVER get an elexa!! Lol
Oh, that was sad..😔 But an excellent production.
Super clever!
This was great. Just funny enough to comfort the viewer through the pronounced loneliness of its themes, and so much depth and relevance to modern life in only 13 minutes. Well done, everyone.
That was a wild ride!
I often wonder about Australia, as almost every short I've seen come out of there is about some dystopian hellscape.
GREAT film.
absolutely terrifying !! 😱😱
Plot: Couple argue because life sucks, and there's a robot. Thanks for wasting my time so thoroughly.
@TotalDec
Жыл бұрын
I get that it is acted well, the music is appropriate... Even the lesson that our life is corporate slavery. But, this is just shinny trash. It should have a warning at the beginning about the level of anger. I'm one of those ppl that don't want to be depressed. I expected more...
Goosbumps. I'm living this right now.
@Andrey.Balandin
8 ай бұрын
Looks like my ex-wife. Get out! There is happiness to be found out there.
Wow this is really cool! Well done to all! :)
Well done!
This is fantastic!
Dangerous game to play with Siri , robot Ted ... to much!
Excellent.
Never thought Alexa would bring me close to tears?
wasn't this already an episode of Black Mirror with Hayley Atwell and Dromhall Gleason?
I think I needed this ❤️
oh man, where can I get one of those :O
I would get a robot like that for the back rubs alone.
That girl opens a box like a serial killer. :/
The actress is gorgeous ❤️ great story
I thought they were gonna stay together😭
After meeting the husband, I was sold on those massage hands...and the detachable zucchini
How do I order one ?
Why didn’t she close the front door
Very good film. So realistic
I need one of those 😊
Dude…..send me one, lololo😂😂😂😂
Well done
Amazing acting from Taylor Buoro!
Very interesting and worrying insight. Great production. Hollywood could learn a thing or two from this...
I'll take the bot
Put Chatbot and Chat GPT in a human-like robot and presto! You have a quasi sentient being.
I would order Ted for the massage
@Sweetyhide
Жыл бұрын
Just get a Rabbit massager. Trust me.
Just like an episode of black mirror I loved it
I loved watching this film for a second time. I'm going to recommend it to a group of my students to watch. It offers such a balanced view of the good/bad aspects of AI. Who needs marriage counselling when you have Alexa and Ted?
That picture of the video is terryfying.
the ai from the online shop destroyed the marriage, cause this would lead to more sales volume.
Brilliant
Yes...this is where society is going. Weirdly😏
Johnny 5, I'm alive
So that’s what an anime character looks like in real life
Where I can order Ted?
Wow.
It's interesting but I still don't get the robot how to force them face their issue. In the end is break-up?
This is so funny, thanks.😎
Husband's a tool. Unfortunately the robot was correct. This is the future.