Director Michelle Bossy’s We regret to inform you, written by Zina Wilde, is smart sci-fi at its finest. In a future which doesn’t feel too far removed from our own, indeed, very much like our own, people can subscribe to just about anything. Just as we can sign up for news updates, sleep tracking, and calorie counting. But, as Alan Watts once said, “It’s better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way.”
Such is the dilemma of Miriam (Wilde), whom we meet amid her life crumbling in the wake of a messy separation. And to add insult to injury, here at her most vulnerable, she receives a phone call from Bob (Kai Lennox) from Expirewithus.com, regretfully informing Miriam she is about to die. Panicked and completely oblivious to being a part of such a ludicrous and unceremonious callous service, Miriam grills Bob for all the details. She feels her heart pounding in her chest as Bob, on his first day on the job, struggles to contain his emotions while delivering the company propaganda, which is conveniently scripted to cover all outcomes when delivering bad news.
“…she receives a phone call…regretfully informing Miriam she is about to die.”
Unfortunately for Bob, there are no preconceived answers for the questions Miriam is throwing at him as she discovers there’s a paywall between her and the information she could really use, like exactly how, where, and when she is scheduled to shuffle off the mortal coil. As Miriam collapses into tears, Bob defies protocol, blocks the feed of the cameras watching him, and assists Miriam before it’s too late.
The flavor of Bossy’s picture invokes the stylish, prognosticative science fiction of Andrew Niccol films including Gattaca, S1m0ne, and In Time. Each in their own way, just like We regret to inform you, touch on what drives humanity as much as what drives us individually, along with glimpses of the technological quagmire we are hurling ourselves towards at breakneck speeds.
We regret to inform you that it is yet another short-form concept that begs to be given greater examination. Its potential lies in the notion that presupposes we may yet be able to subscribe to advanced knowledge of what tomorrow could have in store. Then again, as Isaac Asimov put it, “Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”
"…invokes the stylish, prognosticative science fiction of Andrew Niccol..."
