Co-writer/director Craig Railsback’s short film, The Job, is a parable of technology’s insight into us, its users. After a Twilight Zone-style set-up, we meet Todd (LeJon Stewart), a man on a mission to keep his cool and his confidence high as he readies for an upcoming job interview. Dressed, de-stressed, and ready to impress, Todd arrives at the location of the interview only to find a note pinned to the door, informing him to wait as their return shall be imminent.
Todd chills in a chair and listens to music, dozing as the time slips away at an unknowable rate. When the door opens, he enters what appears to be a supply closet, rounds a corner, and discovers a screen showing an A.I. called Athena (Dawna Lee Heising). Appearing as a woman of unsurpassed beauty, Athena introduces herself before bidding Todd to sit. What follows is more than simply a list of prerequisite employment information-gathering questions, as Athena seems to possess the ability, though artificial, to peer straight into Todd’s soul. After tackling his impertinence and ignorance, Athena next bids Todd choose three cards from a box. She says one represents his past, one his present, and one his future.
“…Athena next bids Todd choose three cards…one represents his past, one his present, and one his future.”
Todd must surrender his illusions and deliver his confidence into the hands of this radiant and angelic construct as his triumph walks, as it does with all humanity, hand-in-hand with his doom. Todd must look beyond the realm of all he understands, finding the choice which will either lead him to his Promised Land, or watch him tumble off toward the eve of destruction.
If you can imagine Her meets The Seventh Seal or even something Philip K. Dick may have written, interwoven into a Beckett play, then you are in the right frame of dreaming to ingest and enjoy The Job. Railsback, with co-writer Heather Joseph-Witham, has made a work that’s right on time. As our society struggles with rejecting or accepting the continued evolution of artificial intelligence, we have already seen reports of people bonding with their artificial companions.
The Job isn’t merely a concentrated dose of challenging science fiction, but also a prognostication of a close encounter of the technology kind we’ve yet to experience.
"…a prognostication of a close encounter of the technology kind we've yet to experience."
