I really wish I could have enjoyed Jacob Bilinski’s short film about reality shifting and perceptions of romance in the end, but with the run time and premise often foggy both in its intent and ability to deliver its hook, “Obsolescence” often feels instead like a practice in monologue reading than it does an actual short film. From minute one I found myself fairly unimpressed by the line reading that occurs as “Obsolescence” is much more focused on the hook that leads in to the final confrontations than it does actually telling its story about a romance that may or may not have been pre-orchestrated to fit a goal for its characters to focus on.
Robert is a tire. Robert is in the ground. Robert gains a consciousness and decides he doesn’t want to be rubble. Robert gets up and starts rolling down the road. He blows things up with its will. It squashes bugs. Now that it’s caught the eye (?) of a gorgeous young traveler, Robert is rolling down after her and is intent on garnering her attention.
One thing about “Young People Fucking” that I detested was that it’s really just pseudo mumblecore, when all is said and done. And if there’s one thing I hate it’s mumblecore. I hear enough people blathering on about nonsense day in and day out, I would actually like dialogue with purpose in films. “Young People Fucking” is pseudo mumblecore that really explores the plight of the young hot blond sexy folks of California. Oh no, they’re a dying breed, aren’t they?