OK/NOTOK
Critic:
Patrick Foley
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Posted on:
Oct 25, 2024

Directed by:
Pardeep Sahota
Written by:
Pardeep Sahota
Starring:
Baivari Manoharan, Jay Taylor
Given that most of us have wanted to throw a laptop out of a window or cursed out an automated ticketing system once or twice in our lives, it is interesting that we all seem addicted to movies about people falling in love with robots. The idea stretches back to the beginning of cinema, but it is only in recent years and the advent of generative AI that the possibility of robotic relationships might actually come into reality. OK/NOTOK is a short, darkly comic look at what one might look like – and spoilers – it’s not all what we hope it will be.
Frustrated at her life living below a VERY loving couple, Loretta (Baivari Manoharan) decides to order herself a robotic boyfriend, Zane (Jay Taylor). Choosing a subscription package she can afford, Zane arrives with a selection of one-liners to make her swoon, a bouncy and attractive personality, and a willingness to serve all her, ahem, needs. But he also comes pre-programmed to take ad breaks – and to Loretta’s horror, an inability to truly develop feelings of love. She weighs the implications of this for her life – and starts to wonder whether he is really the answer for what she needs.
The fact that it is shot from a single angle inside a dark living room tells you from the off that OK/NOTOK is not your traditional look into a dark future. This isn’t a film about Terminators bursting through doors, but instead about how consumerism and loneliness are a deadly cocktail for getting one drunk on isolation – and how technology is doubling the serving size. Loretta brings Zane into her life to find a partner – and sweet moments between the pair suggest it was a successful decision. But inevitably these are fleeting as his synthetic nature comes out. With her investment already made, Loretta is given the chance to increase her subscription with his makers that will add new features that will supposedly make her feel complete – viewers will be well aware that this is unlikely to be the case.
The film is a little unsubtle with its messaging at times. The call centre outright states that Loretta should work more if she wants a service she can’t afford – which would have felt more impactful if it was implicit rather than explicit. There are also moments where news reports from the television the pair spend a great time watching feel inauthentic and designed for scene-setting in a distracting way. These moments are in contrast with Loretta and Zane’s dialogue – which is much more convincing and demonstrates the filmmaker’s talents for creating defined characters.
OK/NOTOK succeeds in that it demonstrates what a possible future with AI is likely to look for most of us. We aren’t going to be leather jacket-wearing badasses fighting off robot hoards – but more likely coach-surfing beholden subjects of tech companies who have commodified human behaviour. Twin revelations at the end of the short mean a thread of tragedy runs through Loretta’s story, who ends up lonelier at the film’s end than at the start. It might not be as horrifying and foreboding of a conclusion as a robot invasion or nuclear war – but it is a lot more likely of one.
Watch our Video Film Review of OK/NOTOK on our YouTube Channel: