"In a cybernetically advanced society, a morbidly obese man decides to order a customizable baby to cure his depression."

OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

Mirthless presents a futuristic sci-fi tale of dreary isolation and dwindling humanity caused by an implied merging of human and machine, in the form of a mandated AI microchip. The star of the short, Coy (Gabriel Metcalf), is confined to his cluttered, rat infested apartment where he is told by his smart scale on a daily basis that his will to live has decreased significantly. In a targeted advertisement akin to present day Hulu with ads, a commercial suggests a purchased baby companion will help improve his morale. When the mail order baby arrives, it is more than the man bargains for as he struggles to appease the crying baby until he discovers a demented strategy to make it laugh - which pursues a darker turn within its already dark premise.

Mirthless impressively manages the filming logistics of both live rodents and a real crying baby. I don’t envy the struggles the filmmaker Tina Kardan likely encountered juggling these elements and  somehow she manages to get the desired performances out of both, despite little to no control over what the baby or animals would do in front of the camera. I appreciated how this short showed a less glamorous side of a tech driven sci-fi landscape without the sleek or sexy elements futuristic sci-fi often showcases (Blade Runner 2049 and Ex Machina come to mind). Despite its dystopian, detached from humanity vibe, it still somehow felt oddly relatable with its AI parodying of a present day human hosted talk show and Baby-Mart advert. Mirthless delivers an effective forewarning of potential future chaos driven by AI infestation into society and although the short itself is led by an oddball character devoid of joy, I enjoyed watching it contrary to its title’s definition.