RESEARCH: HIGH MAINTENANCE

In today's lesson I watched a short film called High Maintenance. The short film was directed by Phillip Van and the writer was Simon Briggs. It is about the near future, a women whose robotic husband fails to meet her standards returns and upgrades him for a better version with standards that she now fails to meet. The title of the film is cleverly processed as the term 'High Maintenance' can be used to describe a male or female partner who has higher than normal expectations and has a greater requirement for affection or attention. However, 'High Maintenance' is usually a term used to describe technology that needs a lot of work to keep in good condition and in this case the movie combines both definitions. 

The storyline is engaging and generates enigma with a plot twist towards the end of the short film. High Maintenance builds audience thought where we begin to assume only the males are robots and that the women dictate the outcome. But then there is a plot twist at the end that shows her husband turn her off with a flick of a switch, this clearly states that both male and females are robots. The plot twist builds suspense and prolongs the audience's interest. 

The short film includes techniques that would be considered intentional and clever, such as at the commencement of the short film there is an amplified sound of the couple eating their dinner but the chewing and clattering sound of the cutlery hitting the plate is purposely made uncomfortably noticeable. The purpose is to highlight the awkwardness and tension of the scene making it obvious there is abnormality about the scene.