Blank – Movie Review
Director: Natalie Kennedy
Writer: Stephen Herman (Screenplay)
Cast
- Rachel Shelley (Deep State)
- Heida Reed (One Day)
- Wayne Brady
- Annie Cusselle
- Rebecca-Clare Evans (How to Kill Monsters)
Plot: A desperate writer signs up for a fully A.I.-operated retreat to cure her writer’s block, but when an unforeseen software glitch occurs, she gets trapped inside her unit with an unstable android and no communication with the outside world.
Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Blank starts when esteemed author Claire Rivers (Shelley) finds herself dealing with writer’s block. She is desperate to get over it and turns to an A.I.-operated retreat. Claire is given a robotic assistant Rita (Reed) to deal with her needs.
However, Rita takes this role too seriously and locks the building down, not letting Claire leave until she finishes. The more Claire looks to escape, the deeper she starts looking into her past. However, she finds herself challenged on what to do next, as her writer’s block is only getting worse.
Verdict on Blank
Blank is a sci-fi mystery following an author with writer’s block trying to find motivation. She turns to an A.I. operation system that takes away distractions to help make her focus. However, the A.I. takes this role the wrong way, leading to Claire finding herself trapped in a world she can’t escape.
This is a movie that looks to show the fine line between needing to escape to concentrate and one to deal with past traumas. It has an uneasy feeling about what has been happening, though it never seems to create as much threat as presented. This ends up feeling more like a troubled author losing their mind, rather than being controlled. In the end, this presents an interesting concept for dealing with everyday problems.
Where to Watch
Blank will be available on UK Digital Download from 8th January 2024
Final Thoughts – Blank is an interesting spin on trying to solve writer’s block.