Evaluate the two plot twists of High Maintanence

 HIGH MAINTENANCE

PLOT TWISTS 

In the Science fiction film "High Maintenance" we are presented with two main plot twists. Firstly, the film begins with a woman and her supposed husband who are having a casual dinner. Further, later on in the scene, we are shown with the first plot twist in which reveals that the 'husband' is a robot shown through the way the woman reaches around his neck and switches him off completely. Subsequently, we are then introduced with the second significant plot twist in which reveals that all along, the wife was a robot herself. These two plot twists are noteworthy in the film supported with clues and factors implanted throughout the film.

To begin with, through the first plot twist, the audience is shown numerous red herrings through the symbolism of food, alcohol, and clothing. The use of alcohol infers that the characters may be distressed and discontent, which are human characteristics used to make the audience believe that they're real humans. This can be used as symbolism for the society they live in, as the woman always seems to look for more whilst the man takes advantage of that and switches her off. This encapsulates the lack of emotions shown towards her, but only in their self-interest. Moreover, there are digestion sounds used to make the audience feel uncomfortable, as the sounds create a human experience, bringing the audience closer to the situation. However, these are all false clues designed to steer the audience away from the fact that the characters are some form of AI technology. Consequently, this doesn't cancel out the initial feelings the audience has for these characters, which may have been a deliberate tactic by the director to hide the fact that the characters on screen have no emotions at all. For example, at first, we feel sympathetic to the 'man' as he has just been replaced, however, we then immediately question our sympathy as what we are feeling sorry for isn't even real. We experience an avast envy towards the woman as we question her actions, who we then are satisfied when she becomes replaces, evidently showing a cycle. In addition, one of the characters mentions "Mechanical sex" this immediately foreshadows the reveal of both plot twists as it insinuates that they're both machines as well as suggesting that they're in an unhappy relationship. Besides this, the lighting is used in order to create the 'romantic' atmosphere through mood lighting. This is ironic due to the fact that there is a lack of romance and human emotion present in the film.

Following this, the director uses the use of repetition to foreshadow the second plot twist. The film incorporates Chekhov's gun with the repeated dialogue of, "The asparagus is really tender they say it's an aphrodisiac" mentioned by both the woman and the second man is one of the hints in which imply that the woman is a robot herself. The similarities in the discussion of asparagus clearly emphasize how they were programmed in a similar way. In addition, the props used were effectively used to link the storyline. For instance, the cigarettes between the two men show their similarities, whilst the switches, in the end, show them to all be the same. Further, the narrative sets up multiple enigma codes due to the ambiguity of the film. The audience isn't entirely aware of what is happening and even if you think you are, the narrative plot twist will change a large majority of spectators' perceptions of the narrative.