I'm Not a Robot Review (Short Film, 2024)

content warning: foul language, blood, death by suicide

Last week, I mentioned it was a surprisingly good year for horror at the Academy Awards. Don’t sleep on how well science fiction did, either. Dune: Part Two took home the prizes in Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, on top of repeat nominations for the series in Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design. The Wild Robot cleaned house at the Annie Awards and competed in Best Animated Film, Best Sound, and Best Original Score, while Kingdom of Planet of the Apes and Alien: Romulus both faced off in Best Visual Effects against the aforementioned Dune: Part 2.

Perhaps the greatest triumph for the genre comes from an unexpected category. Writer/director Victoria Warmerdam’s dystopian sci-fi short film “I’m Not a Robot” triumphed in the Best Live Action Short Film category. I’ve been obsessed with this short film since I found it streaming online and I’m hoping you’ll also give it a chance.

The premise is silly at first, then quickly takes a turn for the cerebral and existential. Lara, a music producer, has to update her editing software. She fails the CAPTCHA test. Then she fails again. And again. And again. She fails enough times that she has to call customer support who suggest she may, in fact, be a robot. Lara wouldn’t be the first robot to find out this way.

I don’t want to go much further into the plot than this. Warmerdam’s screenplay is brilliant. The gradual shift in tone from reality to the thread of existence seemingly falling apart in real time is astonishing. Lara’s existential crisis is externalized beautifully through the use of everyday technology (phones and laptops are always within an arm’s reach) fighting for attention with real world interactions. She can navigate both, but the combination of ever-present technology and meaningful in person connections seems to be a challenge everyone faces in this world.

“I’m Not a Robot” has a lot to say about the human condition, our need for connection, and our validity to society. Lara is just trying to do her job. She’s trying to be the perfect supportive girlfriend to long time partner Daniel. She’s trying to be everything to everyone while struggling to hold herself together when the slightest thing goes wrong. Robots might not know that they’re actually robots, but no one around Lara acts like she’s any different from anyone else. The slightest failure of technology pushes her to question everything about her core essence.

And in her defense, I thought she clicked on all the bridges, too. I wonder…

“I’m Not a Robot” is available to stream for free on YouTube through The New Yorker. I’ve embedded it below.