We have all seen a movie or television show where an inanimate object comes to life. Writer/director Jack McMillan’s Adelina is a short film with an idea along the same line. Still, it takes a bit of a different approach by having the inanimate object have a consciousness. A dummy has a consciousness and develops feelings for one of the medical students who work on her. Things get more strange when the medical dummy witnesses a romantic relationship between its crush and another medical student.
The film has three characters, but only one provides the voice as Adelina (Olivia Francis) is telling the story – hence the title. Adelina expresses her thoughts and feelings throughout the entire film as she explains how much she is in love with Tony (Steven Smith). Then another side of Adelina is shown when she slowly witnesses a romantic relationship play out in front of her between Tony and another female medical student named Gina (Olivia Francis as well).

“A dummy has a consciousness and develops feelings for one of the medical students…”
It takes a certain kind of person to write a film like Adelina. That person has to be really into consciousness and self-aware of their thoughts and feelings. Jack McMillan is that person. His movie is solely based on feelings, and he really thought out how a dummy would describe touch, thoughts, and feelings. To believe how a dummy or mannequin would have to feel tortured, just watching everything and being stuck in their head, is a truly disturbing and torturous thought.
I knew what I got myself into within the first few seconds. But the turn Adelina takes in the final seconds is something that, even though I saw coming, was still a bit shocking. I probably made the film sound more disturbing than it really is, but I will say that it’s quite creepy, especially with a doll that does not move unless by someone else. Oh, the irony.