Empathy, Inc. taps into the generation-old concept of VR and AR personified in films like Brainstorm, Videodrome and last year’s Incontrol. Joel (Zack Robidas) is part of an investment firm that suddenly finds itself on the scrap heap due to a business transaction gone wrong. All things being equal, he and his actress wife Jessica (Kathy Searle) move back in with her parents, and discussion towards how he’s going to get it all back takes precedent over his own feelings.
While at a bar to clear his head, Joel bumps into an old acquaintance, Nicolaus (Eric Berryman), who is working on a new concept – with his company Empathy, Inc. – by the name of XVR (Xtreme Virtual Reality) which gives people the chance to live the life of others who are less fortunate than themselves. Naturally there are rules to how this works, and before long Joel finds his desire to live in ways beyond that which he is so comfortable.
Empathy, Inc. takes a well-known and well-liked concept and pushes it a little bit further. Thanks to director Yedidya Gorsetman’s assured and taut direction and a confident, competent screenplay by Mark Leidner, this is a movie that works exceptionally well. The black and white cinematography takes us into classic David Lynch territory a la Elephant Man and Eraserhead-type visuals.
The film also taps into the Philip K. Dick mantra of fantasy vs reality as realised in Verhoeven’s Total Recall and, right up until the very end, it will keep you in thrall with a couple of nice twists shaped by the concept the film is asking us to buy into. Granted, a little bit of suspension of disbelief is needed, but since when was that an issue when millions thrilled to the worlds of Michael Crichton and The Matrix?
If you value your clever, smart sci-fi in the style of Ex Machina, then Empathy, Inc. is a movie to behold. A neat gem of an experience, but keep your thoughts in check.
EMPATHY, INC. / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: YEDIDYA GORSETMAN / SCREENPLAY: MARK LEIDNER / STARRING: ANTHONY MANGANO, KAREN LYNN GORNEY, JAY KLAITZ, AJ CEDENO / RELEASE DATE: VOD OUT NOW
