Virtually Fine
Virtually Fine
Screenplay by Gil Saint | Review by Sara Eustaquio
When the entire world seems to be crumbling down, a guy named Miller finds a way to ignore this fact through a VR simulation. An escape or maybe a clever way to change your own fate for better? This is a big question that hits you straight in the face from the very start of the amazing story written by Gil Saint and adequately named Virtually Fine! For Miller, the dystopian world where aliens are invading earth and absolutely destroying the world as we know it doesn’t exist. Instead, the destruction is replaced by clowns, balloons and smiling faces that don’t have a care in the world. The easygoing language turns this screenplay funnier and pleasing to read. SO although the main focus is the potential damage caused by the rapid development of technology, Saint manages to present it in a way that’s sure to make you giggle here and there. Even though the idea of someone choosing to see a perfect world instead of the reality with some VR glasses might sound somewhat extravagant, it is not that absurd. After all, it is fascinating how through VR, everything people see is manipulated and transformed into something entirely different – so why not use it to see what people would rather see than the actual reality? Even if it is to hide the fact that the world is under an alien invasion. If you think about it, Virtually Fine turns the famous movie They Live upside down. Unlike there where the main character uses special glasses to see the aliens & the reality, here, the main character uses VR glasses to “unsee “ the reality.
The way Saint writes is absolutely fascinating. If the scenes themselves are completely insane – for example, when Miller sees a supermodel but in reality, it’s a woman covered in blood – the sarcasm used to describe them accentuates the craziness of this dystopian world. It makes it harder not to feel bad about this poor man missing out on life. The dark comedy Virtually Fine might be hilarious, but at the same time, it is profoundly sad. After all, a man is in such despair to avoid the real world that he resorts to technology that shows him what he wants to see. Miller is not fine and he only finds his happiness in this virtual world. So the final question that just might pop in your mind is this. Is it better to be virtually fine, meaning to basically ignore the entire reality? Or is it better to face the harsh reality heads on with the risk of losing absolutely everything but potentially being awarded with something much more? After being introduced to Saint’s world, let’s hope that this virtual reality does not come true – honestly, it would be more worthwhile to see an alien invasion than clowns. If the scenario happens, let’s just hope we’ll end up being just fine.
