Sombre music accompanies a brisk beach day as we focus on a man, who appears to be talking to himself, or maybe us. With actor-writer-director Matt Kane’s feature debut Auggie, there is much more than meets the eye, but you will have to put some specs on to see it.
Felix, an architect forced into retirement, brings a whole lot of awkwardness to his send off speech – you can feel his colleagues toes curl and eyes roll as they frankly couldn’t care this man will no longer be at their firm. After a few forced smiles and a somewhat clichéd farewell, instead of the classic company watch as a parting gift he receives a high-tech pair of glasses in the hope a buddy or rather an augmented reality companion will keep his loneliness at bay during retirement. Felix soon realizes that ‘Auggie’ isn’t any old projection visible via his new glasses – it is his desired mate. Given how things go perhaps a watch would have been better.
The disconnect it has ultimately created despite its benefits for Felix tears through the center of this man’s universe; leaving everyone befuddled as to why he became overtly attached in the first place. Despite Christen Harper’s all-consuming beauty as airbrushed Auggie, Richard Kind as the accommodating, enduring, meek husband Felix is the star here. His tone, mannerisms and sweet side smile create a cocktail of empathy and understanding as to why he does this. Boredom, loneliness and one’s mental wellbeing scream out from the screen and at times completely warrant why this man got so hooked initially.
A strong start for first time feature director Kane, providing us with a subtle and easy watch fulfilling your sci-fi fix, while you seek comfort in the fact Auggie hasn’t infiltrated your life (yet).