Commentary on Contemporary American Relationships

Rating: 8/10 (19 April 2015)

This movie makes a strong comment on relationships in 21st century United States. When people get into a relationship, it's all about me. What can I get out of this relationship? Is the relationship pleasing to me? Do I like the other person? Can I do better? And it really doesn't even matter if the relationship is real.
The main character has a job writing letters. Never mind that people don't write letters to each other anymore. He writes letters for any type of relationship: lovers, spouses, grandparent/grandchild, etc. And he writes very tender things, and I can imagine the tears welling up in Grandma's eyes as she reads the tender thoughts of young Chauncey. It doesn't matter whether it's real or not. It pleases the recipient. The fact that these emotions aren't created by a genuine relationship is not even an afterthought.
So the main character gets an operating system that is human-like, and he falls in love with it. It doesn't matter to him that it's just a machine and not a real person. The machine is programed to please him.
The actual relationships that humans have with each other show this selfishness. A friend breaks a relationship over an argument over something trivial. The main character is going through a divorce. Never does it occur to him to consider his wife's feelings. He doesn't care about his wife's feelings, only his own. His goal in life is please himself.
The movie paints a realistic picture of relationships in the nation today, and it makes quite a commentary.