Christen Harper in Auggie (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

When the computers take over the world, which, of course, they are going to do, it isn’t going to be like some apocalyptic showdown with humanoid robots looking like bodybuilders and speaking in Austrian-accented English. It’s going to be something along the lines of what goes down in Auggie.

An auggie is what appears in a pair of glasses Felix (Richard Kind) receives as a gift at his retirement party at the architecture firm he started. Well, less a retirement party than a “We’re going to kindly show you the door” party. Auggies are personal assistants that look like real people. They read your subconscious thoughts and provide what you desire. Felix, out of sorts and adrift, is a workaholic without any work; his daughter is moving in with a very recently acquired boyfriend; and his wife has just received a pretty big promotion at work.

So Felix tries on his glasses, and as expected, a sweet young thing appears. At first, he’s shy and a bit freaked out, but this woman, Auggie (Christen Harper), knows exactly what to say and do to make Felix feel better about himself.

All this is a very familiar, and some would say hoary, sci-fi trope, but by really digging into his characters and with a strong degree of sympathy for all involved, co-writer/director Matt Kane transcends clichés to deliver a sad, knowing look at male pride and the feeling of worthlessness for a certain generation when they are no longer working.

Kane works with great precision in the palette he uses, the shots he chooses, and the almost bland, warmed-over dialogue. Everything in Felix’s life feels flat, gray, and perfectly composed. It’s almost a parody of upper middle-class life. So when Auggie comes around, the world around him literally brightens. Harper, as Auggie, admirably treads a line of creating a character that would seem credible as an actual person but is actually a construct with an agenda. Harper, who has a fresh-faced sort of beauty, milks that for all its worth while slowly leading Felix down the garden path to spending more money.

And that’s what sets Auggie apart from other films of this ilk. Of course, these glasses can become addicting. To have someone validate you unequivocally is a pretty standard human need. Other human needs, especially in our intimate lives, make relationships so hard and so rewarding. Felix knows this, but Auggie gives him an out. There are also products that will, er, enhance your experience, because when the robot apocalypse comes, our ego and our wallets are going to be targeted.

Eventually, the game is up, and what is expected occurs. There’s anger, incrimination, and maybe eventual forgiveness. Just when you lose hope that Kane is going to wimp out and give us a fairly pat ending, he pulls the final ace out of his sleeve, and it’s simultaneously completely obvious and an absolute doozy of a gut punch.

It’s very difficult to offer up a small, intimate sci-fi film that still manages to make strong statements about human behavior and our potential direction. With Auggie, Matt Kane and Richard Kind, manage to accomplish this with impressive ease.