A common complaint these days is the fact that cell phone technology, specifically its convenience and efficiency, eliminates the conflict that cinematic narratives rely on. Conversely, Matt Kane’s upcoming debut feature film Auggie shows how emerging technologies can open up new possibilities in storytelling, especially on the big screen.
The great character actor Richard Kind (Spin City, A Serious Man) stars as Felix, a happily married father of an adult daughter, struggling after he’s forced into retirement by the design firm he works for, just as his wife's career kicks up a notch.
Felix's parting gift from work is a pair of augmented reality glasses that project a photo-realistic, artificially intelligent rendering of the wearer's ideal romantic partner, as determined by their subconscious. In Felix's case, it's a beautiful young woman named Auggie (played by Christen Harper). Soon, his relationship with Auggie comes to dominate his life.
According to Kane, the 28-year-old English-born actor (Once Upon a Time) and filmmaker who co-wrote and directed Auggie, the film is a “cautionary tale” about technology’s influence.
“I hope that people are inspired to think about the way that we take ourselves out of the present moment to look at social media; look at the Internet in general, Twitter, and whatever else,” he says.
One might argue distraction is the film’s central theme, and the story explores it as an antidote to vulnerability by introducing the beautiful and young Auggie to Felix.
“It’s a much easier face to look at than just looking in a mirror or talking to your wife,” Kane says. “It’s the safest way to be vulnerable.”
The film, according to Kane, also explores the fragile nature of the male ego.
“We’re looking at the crumbling of [Felix’s] identity as an architect; as a successful man, as the sort of breadwinner and all the rest of it,” he explains. “The idea of him becoming addicted to this ‘thing’ the softer and more inviting she is. She’s the easiest person for him to trust, I suppose, as all of that other stuff happens in reality.”
Though technology is at its core, Kane says the film is inspired by real-life interactions, including co-writer Marc Underhill’s experiences dating in Los Angeles.
“He came up with this idea for a piece of technology, or some sort of projection, that could give you am ‘on demand’ partner,” Kane says. “You could escape reality by interacting with this thing and when you wanted to escape that relationship, you could just take the glasses off.”
It was Kane’s idea to ask what that might look like for someone already in a relationship.
“I would almost say the most prominent form of escapism now is looking at your phone or opening your laptop,” he says. “A lot of us tend to look for a way to escape what's most difficult.”
As opposed to the leading relationship in the film, the working one between Kane and Underhill, who were friends for years before they started to write together, took place almost exclusively in real life as they created the script.
“We actually spent the whole time together,” Kane recalls. And the majority of that time was spent creating the outline.
“I would say that was almost a longer process than writing the actual script. Essentially, we created a guidebook to follow for when we sat down and implemented those guidelines into what's actually read on the page.”
Besides having fun together, the partnership works well because the writers’ styles complement each other, according to Kane.
“Marc comes from a structural place, and I like to come from more of a character place, I guess, with dialogue and whatnot,” he says. “So I think getting into the interactions that the characters are facing is something I really enjoy, and Marc really likes coming up with interesting ways to shape the story.”
Still, the two didn’t know how high to aim when casting the film since Auggie is an independent project and it was the pair’s first time writing a feature.
“Our really wonderful casting director, who is also a friend of ours, Alice Merlin, was giving us advice on who might be willing to do something like this,” Kane says. “The second she came on board, the script got into the hands of management companies and agencies that represent clients like Richard; the kind of people that we would hope for. So, Richard's manager reached out to Alice and said, ‘Hey, I think this is something Richard might be interested in,’ and the second the idea was presented to us — which was very early on in the process — we were so excited.”
The positive momentum continued as Auggie screened on the festival circuit.
“People have really responded to the vulnerability of Felix. For the younger people, [they're] thinking like, ‘Oh gosh, that's sort of like dad,’ and, ‘I'm thinking about dad who's just retired, and oh my gosh, how is he?’” Kane says. “I’m delighted as a filmmaker.”
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired Auggie for U.S. distribution, and will release the film “quite soon.”