Shad Clark‘s short film All I Think Of Is You is a sci-fi journey of unattainable closure. Scientist Nate (Rowan Brooks) is obsessed with communicating with his wife Claire (Simone Olsen-Varela), which is a problem because Nate is dead. Or is supposed to be.
Turns out the lab where he was working was instrumental in creating a way for someone’s mind to be uploaded into a different body, and when Nate unexpectedly died in a car wreck, he became the first “beneficiary” of this medical and technological breakthrough. Unfortunately, that means Claire is the unfortunate recipient of phone calls from someone claiming to be her dead husband, and the result is a prolonged torture and inability to fully grieve her loss.
Thus in many ways, this is a sci-fi cautionary tale; another case where “should we?” might be the better question than “can we?” for the scientists involved. Still, there has to be an alpha and beta test for all major breakthroughs, so this could be the unfortunate start of something truly great. Or something unintentionally insidious.
From a filmmaking standpoint, while the science of the film may appear futuristic, the world of the film is more contemporary. So don’t expect flying cars or other futuristic affectations. Besides the subject matter, the only thing that screams futuristic is the anti-septic nature of the lab, with its bright whites and otherworldly sheen.
This grounding in the present day allows for an easier engagement from the audience. This kind of scientific and medical marvel could very well be around the corner, or even already happening. Because we don’t feel divorced from the “now” of the film, the consequences of the science hit harder than they would, say, if folks were wearing hoverboots.
I will admit that for some reason or another I didn’t initially make the connection to a seemingly flashback situation that was presented, and was briefly confused as to how Nate fit into the entire scenario. I’m not sure if that was something entirely on me in that moment, or if the edit didn’t give enough of a heads-up to make the transition more clear. Looking back, I’m not sure what the film could do differently, I just know I was puzzled for that sequence.
Overall, All I Think Of Is You makes great use of its short running time to run this potentially nightmarish sci-fi scenario by us. Who knows, in a few years this film could be like many other works of sci-fi that were surprisingly prescient. Hopefully in a more positive way than what occurs here.
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