What could possibly be more infuriatingly repetitive than solving a Captcha before a login? If you’ve spent any decent amount of time browsing the internet, you’ve probably run into wall after wall of the famed security measure designed to thwart bots from flooding the website. A couple of clicks and it’s all well and good, but the annoyance of not getting it right or being presented with more puzzles can quickly sour a day at work. And in writer/director Victoria Warmerdam’s Oscar-qualifying short thriller I’m Not a Robot, it signals a total existential crisis for one poor woman.
Lara’s (Ellen Parren) day as a music producer is rudely interrupted by a seemingly routine software interference. She quickly unplugs from her session, attempting to log in with her credentials to complete the update, only to encounter a Captcha test. Picture after picture, click after click, Lara fails each time, spiraling into a near-complete meltdown and questioning her own identity in front of her colleagues, higher-ups, and even her boyfriend Daniel (Henry van Loon). Unable to help her, Daniel calls in Pam (Thekla Reuten), who has an incredibly unique connection to his troubled girlfriend.
In what feels like yet another addition to the Black Mirror-adjacent wave of indie films, I’m Not a Robot concerns itself with our identity and the sanctity of what makes us human. Despite the seemingly silly nature of this Captcha saga, the questions it poses are far from trivial. Warmerdam’s approach to this broad subject is nothing short of brilliant, wrapping these themes in a cold, corporate blanket and putting Lara into as many personally compromising situations as possible, where there’s really no telling which way the plot will swing.
Everything is subtle, with nothing being immediately apparent until you really get to know the woman and her relationship with Daniel, who serves as a welcome counterbalance to all the absurdity. Parren turns in a showstopping performance in the lead, but really everything in I’m Not a Robot works like a well-oiled machine. The pacing, the camerawork, and even the awkward oval windows in Lara’s high-rise workplace deliver.
Relevant and entertaining, I’m Not a Robot is one of the best techno-thrillers of this calendar year.
