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Creative Control is a hi-tech science fiction film that follows David (Benjamin Dickinson), an advertising executive who is involved in a power struggle within his company and his personal life. The black and white film artistically showcases a painful struggle with not only David, but also the supporting characters, as themes of depression and dissatisfaction takes hold of them and tests the boundaries of their friendships, romantic relationships and career goals.
The movie is altered by its futuristic New York setting. The virtual reality glasses that David receives begins to enhance his life, and eventually serves as the driving force for the film. After David is assigned the task of developing an advertising plan for the glasses he becomes too invested and begins to experiment with the new technology.
David uses his obsession with Sophie (Alexia Rasmussen), his best friends’ girlfriend, to push the limits of the new technology that he is given. With the Agumenta Glasses, he alleviates his personal needs by creating a digital avatar of Sophie. This becomes problematic, as he uses this model to avoid his real life problems with his girlfriend Juliette (Nora Zehetner). The closer he grows to Sophie, the more realistic his virtual model becomes.
The virtual byproduct of David and Juliette's failed relationship, begins to negatively impact David. His problems also push him towards experimenting with drugs and alcohol, which plays out artistically on screen as well. As David’s character feels and goes through changes, so does the audience. For example, the pills that he takes throughout the film are highlighted in cutaway sequences to emphasize the importance of the drugs in his life. The forceful trumpets and horns blare loudly in scenes, as David experiences emotional highs and lows as well. David’s flat character is intuitive, but negatively progresses as he is blinded throughout the film. It’s upsetting to see that instead of evolving, he devolves into a selfish and carless figure.
Juliette’s character exists to counterbalance David's anxious character. She is shaped out to be a delicate figure. Her delicate nature is highlighted the most during scenes where she is teaching her yoga class or when she is serving as a yoga model. She is one of the more reasonable characters in the film but she is however, easily influenced and often ignored. Her dependency is one of her weaker characteristics, and her need to be loved serves as one of her downfalls in the film. Her meek representation in the film is eventually replaced by an evolved character who is willing to work on her relationship. She goes through one of the more dramatic changes, but her character matures the most.
In addition to the futuristic topics covered in the film, there is a focus on designing the future. The film's design is very sleek and light is often emphasized. The focus on light is surprisingly ironic because of the dark topics that are covered throughout the film. The black and white contrast throughout the movie plays along with the themes of depression and dissatisfaction. The dark undertones in the film’s design, in addition to the references to drugs and alcohol, effects each character but it impacts David the most, and his reality becomes our reality.
The movie itself uses very distinctive artistic techniques to draw viewers in. The film used classical and jazz tracks to capture every moment from the intense moments, to the calming ones. The film's artistic expression is showcased with creative cutaways, intense close-ups, and harsh lighting. The film must rely on rich visuals to express the story because of the creative decision to remove the color. Color is added at one point in the film to showcase a turning point in David's life.
The story is weirdly arranged, and doesn’t allow an adequate amount of time for the audience to get aquatinted with the supporting characters. Action ensues quickly, and we’re often left wondering why David is reacting to various situations erratically. His failed relationship leading to him having an affair with a crafted avatar seems a little too extreme and unrealistic as well. While Creative Control is questionable at times, it does hit the mark in some cases. The film successfully offers criticisms to our current obsession with advanced technologies, such as virtual reality and smartphones. Creative Control may be a hard pill to swallow at first due to its touchy topics and unrealistic sequences, but viewers will grow to appreciate its blatant warnings about the dangers of human dependency on technology.
Creative Control (2015)
Director: Benjamin Dickinson
Writer: Micah Bloomberg, Benjamin Dickinson
Starring: Benjamin Dickinson, Nora Zehetner, Dan Gill
Run time: 1 hour 37 minutes
Creative Control: A Hard Pill to Swallow
Creative Control is a hi-tech science fiction film that follows David (Benjamin Dickinson), an advertising executive who is involved in a power struggle within his company and his personal life. The black and white film artistically showcases a painful struggle with not only David, but also the supporting characters, as themes of depression and dissatisfaction takes hold of them and tests the boundaries of their friendships, romantic relationships and career goals.
The movie is altered by its futuristic New York setting. The virtual reality glasses that David receives begins to enhance his life, and eventually serves as the driving force for the film. After David is assigned the task of developing an advertising plan for the glasses he becomes too invested and begins to experiment with the new technology.
David uses his obsession with Sophie (Alexia Rasmussen), his best friends’ girlfriend, to push the limits of the new technology that he is given. With the Agumenta Glasses, he alleviates his personal needs by creating a digital avatar of Sophie. This becomes problematic, as he uses this model to avoid his real life problems with his girlfriend Juliette (Nora Zehetner). The closer he grows to Sophie, the more realistic his virtual model becomes.
The virtual byproduct of David and Juliette's failed relationship, begins to negatively impact David. His problems also push him towards experimenting with drugs and alcohol, which plays out artistically on screen as well. As David’s character feels and goes through changes, so does the audience. For example, the pills that he takes throughout the film are highlighted in cutaway sequences to emphasize the importance of the drugs in his life. The forceful trumpets and horns blare loudly in scenes, as David experiences emotional highs and lows as well. David’s flat character is intuitive, but negatively progresses as he is blinded throughout the film. It’s upsetting to see that instead of evolving, he devolves into a selfish and carless figure.
Juliette’s character exists to counterbalance David's anxious character. She is shaped out to be a delicate figure. Her delicate nature is highlighted the most during scenes where she is teaching her yoga class or when she is serving as a yoga model. She is one of the more reasonable characters in the film but she is however, easily influenced and often ignored. Her dependency is one of her weaker characteristics, and her need to be loved serves as one of her downfalls in the film. Her meek representation in the film is eventually replaced by an evolved character who is willing to work on her relationship. She goes through one of the more dramatic changes, but her character matures the most.
In addition to the futuristic topics covered in the film, there is a focus on designing the future. The film's design is very sleek and light is often emphasized. The focus on light is surprisingly ironic because of the dark topics that are covered throughout the film. The black and white contrast throughout the movie plays along with the themes of depression and dissatisfaction. The dark undertones in the film’s design, in addition to the references to drugs and alcohol, effects each character but it impacts David the most, and his reality becomes our reality.
The movie itself uses very distinctive artistic techniques to draw viewers in. The film used classical and jazz tracks to capture every moment from the intense moments, to the calming ones. The film's artistic expression is showcased with creative cutaways, intense close-ups, and harsh lighting. The film must rely on rich visuals to express the story because of the creative decision to remove the color. Color is added at one point in the film to showcase a turning point in David's life.
The story is weirdly arranged, and doesn’t allow an adequate amount of time for the audience to get aquatinted with the supporting characters. Action ensues quickly, and we’re often left wondering why David is reacting to various situations erratically. His failed relationship leading to him having an affair with a crafted avatar seems a little too extreme and unrealistic as well. While Creative Control is questionable at times, it does hit the mark in some cases. The film successfully offers criticisms to our current obsession with advanced technologies, such as virtual reality and smartphones. Creative Control may be a hard pill to swallow at first due to its touchy topics and unrealistic sequences, but viewers will grow to appreciate its blatant warnings about the dangers of human dependency on technology.
Creative Control (2015)
Director: Benjamin Dickinson
Writer: Micah Bloomberg, Benjamin Dickinson
Starring: Benjamin Dickinson, Nora Zehetner, Dan Gill
Run time: 1 hour 37 minutes
