Directed by : Benjamin Dickinson
Written by : Micah Bloomberg, Benjamin Dickinson
Starring : Benjamin Dickinson, Nora Zehetner, Alexia Rasmussen, Dan Gill
Release Date : March 11, 2016
"Creative Control" is set in a near future New York where smartphones and computers are futuristic slabs of translucent glass, and augmented reality glasses can bring a person closer to merging a virtual reality into their own real life. This is yet another movie that deals with commentary about how the integration of technology into our daily modern lives can equally make our lives easier and also harder to communicate with each other. One scene that audiences might find very relatable involves the main character attempting to multi-task a video chat, while modifying a program, while doing an over view of a video project, and at the same time conversing in three different messaging chats. This movie explores some very interesting modern-tech topics like that example, but it does also have many familiar story tropes that keep it from being a truly unique film.
Although this movie has a strong science-fiction premise, this is also a relationship drama about David; a man who fully embraces modern conveniences and luxuries, and his girlfriend Juliette; a woman who prefers to be more social conscious and does yoga. Their differences eventually strains their relationship, which gives David an excuse to try and pursue the attraction he has towards his co-worker who is also his friend's girlfriend Sophie, while Juliette tries to find comfort by getting lost in spirituality. The juxtaposition between the couple's different outlooks in life may be an interesting topic to explore here, but the most fascinating plot of the story is about how David is affected by his use of augmented reality, especially when it involves Sophie.
There are several provocative scenes in this movie that can be awkward to watch, like when it involves the combination of augmented reality with sex. Speaking of which, there are several instances of female nudity and sexual content in this, that it can be taken as gratuitously targeted toward men's fantasies. On another note, there's also this hipster vibe that I get from this production, via the overabundance of male characters having beards, the "cool" cameo appearances by comedian/musician Reggie Watts to Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes, it's apparent self-awareness like in a scene where one character actually refers to himself as someone being in a movie, the fact that there's a character named "Wim," plus the film is shot in black and white (that admittedly could be a budget issue).
Even though there are too many meandering scenes that hits us over the head with how David is going through this downward spiral of succumbing to his reliance on immediate modern conveniences, "Creative Control" still offers some thought provoking subject matters that are worth seeing in this movie. Either way, this is still an admirable effort by Director, Co-Writer, and Actor, Benjamin Dickinson.
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