Be Right Back or Leave Right Now?

The film "Be Right Back" brings up many moral issues and how people deal with them. The movie's main character, Martha, loses her significant other, Ash, in a car crash. The film foreshadows his death and eminent future by having Ash constantly on his cell phone and Martha continuously asking him to power off. The audience is led to believe that Ash dies in the car due to technology. However, technology is what actually keeps Ash living.

After the untimely death, Martha barely has any time to grieve or heal when her "friend", Sarah, tells her to sign up for a technology that is unknown to the viewer at the time it is introduced. All we know is that it helped Sarah get over the death of someone and Martha does not want it. Now, I use quotations around friend because Sarah signs Martha up for this technology even with Martha's denial and pushes her to use it.

This new technology allows Martha to talk to Ash via email, but eventually in a different way. However, it is not Ash talking to Martha, but a device that uses all of Ash's social media to respond to Martha how Ash would respond. I believe that the technology is beneficial in some way. I think that it allows Martha to have closure and say goodbye to Ash because she didn't get to before he died. However, she becomes addicted to the technology and she is not allowed to grieve. I think she should have just said goodbye and ended the program. She ultimately takes it too far and creates an android version of Ash. It looks like, talks like, and somewhat acts like Ash. At first, she enjoys having him around but then realizes that he is not the same as the old Ash.

The question we are left thinking with is the android Ash the real Ash?

Personally I believe that this is not the real Ash. First, the real Ash passed away and the android is just a replica of him. Second, android Ash does not have the past experiences of Ash and has no history with him. I think it is morally wrong for Martha to create this android because everything that is organic (i.e. humans) lives and dies, that is just how life works. Ash died, so he should remain dead. Yes, the memories of him should live, but not as an android that could replace him.

All in all, I believe that Martha just took it too far. She was consumed with the idea of having Ash back and it overwhelmed her to the point of breaking and wanting to kill the android.