Fire up that sack of sour diesel as you are in for a total gas with the potent British sci-fi short Faults, directed by Ben Ogunbiyi with a script by Ogunbiyi and Rhys Mainwaring. Mary (Anna-Maria Nabirye) enjoys a sunny day, watching her daughter (Jasmine Peasah) frolic in a field. Then the gas wears off, and Mary is back in her filthy, squalid quarters in a dingy, bleak future era. Mary puts on her rubber suit to go check on the floor she oversees of the dopamine mine she works in. Here, people are tied to poles and fed gas that takes them to make-believe places that make them happy, at which time the dopamine their brains produced is extracted. Every now and then, one of the people being mined gets broken and has to be thrown away.
Gas worker Flo (Aiysha Jebali) tries to bring something to Mary’s attention, but Mary orders her to go back to work. Mary just can’t wait to get back to her quarters to use some more of the gas on herself to take her back to her daughter. Then there is a calamity, and Mary wakes up with Moses’s (Aaron Thomas Ward) twisted, scarred face in front of her, letting her know nothing will ever be the same again.
“… tied to poles and fed gas that takes them to make-believe places…”
Despite the lofty beliefs held by purists, science fiction is a film genre of art direction first, with speculative ideas coming second. No one is going to ride your spaceship unless it looks spiffy in its own way. This is a bit of a conundrum, as it needs to be recognizable as science fiction but not so typical as to be derivative. This is where Ogunbiyi hits the target with a laser beam arrow. The director takes the dystopian template of Brazil and amplifies it to far-off extremes. Everything in the future in Faults looks like a dirty restroom, heightening the contrast of the gas-induced drug scapes that provide an escape from a urinal cake hell. The signature touch added here is the use of gases, which fits so well with the classic near future “wet, black, smoke” look.
Yes, we also have heavy thematic elements, but first and foremost, it will catch the eye. For theme, we are presented with an excellent speculative metaphor for drug addiction with the challenges of breaking loose from it. The point is nailed home by Nabirye’s wonderful performance. The emotions Nabirye projects are honest and complex, causing the screen to start sparking some. Faults look a lot more expensive than they probably were, with world-building that would satisfy even the weariest sci-fi traveler. Those who were or are struggling with addiction will recognize the gravity of the desolation. Those who haven’t will get a taste of a darkness that douses all light. Worth seeking out, even if you have to step outside your usual galaxy.
"…an excellent speculative metaphor for drug addiction..."
