Thomas in Love

I cant really say that the description of this movie was wrong, but they ignore a huge part of the way they tell the story. Its a strange one to say the least.

It's the story of a man who in the near future has become agoraphobic (fear to go outside) and has remained in his home with out going out and no one coming in for the last eight years. Well his state appointed psychiatrist wants him to try and get out there and meet people, in a way of speaking. He has to talk to people and interact with a form of video phone they call visiophone. The entire movie in fact is told through the visiophone, and all you ever see is what our main character Thomas sees on his video screen.

So he's looking for love, dealing with his insurance company, his poor mother who just wants to talk to him, a call girl service and so on. The story only picks up what we see on the screen, so hours days or even more go by in a second as one call ends and the next begins, very strange. He meets a few women that interest him, and he eventually has to decide if he wants to venture out into the real world once again. The thing is is that all his needs are met, including his...other appetites, he can have virtual relations with a CGI girl though the phone and a suit that allows him to feel it like its real.

It's a cool look into the future, everyone has these tattoos or make up on their face making them look very hippie, but also futuristic. There is, I'm sorry to say very little personal growth from Thomas the entire movie, which makes it hard to really care about him because he doesn't do anything to really help himself. He's sarcastic and mean at times, he doesn't want help, but if something doesn't go his way he complains, a lot. I still cared for him, but not as much as I could have.

It starts out with a bang (literally) as he has sex with this virtual girl....which was....strange to say the least, but for an indie movie the effects were better than I would have thought. It was a different kind of movie and for that I have to give it some respect, but it felt largely underwritten and poorly constructed plot wise, still enjoyable though, but only appeals to a small amount of people, not commercially. 7/10 stars.

Director: Pierre-Paul Renders

Starring: Benoit Verhaert, Aylin Yay, Magali Pingluat