People tolerate the idea of tech surveillance because we spy on each other anyway – that’s one of the things that Eugene Kotlyarenko‘s The Code is about. That and the breakdown of the relationship of Jay Richard and Celine Unger.

Peter Vack and Dasha Nekrasova play the couple also scrambling for solution to beat boredom. Their solution is to rent a haunted yet modern house in Yucca Valley, California. And because it’s COVID and they’re millennials, they’re on their phones, checking texts. Sometimes, they get a break from each other, like when Jay facetimes his dad (Richard Edson). But eventually, they get back to their relationship rut.

Jay knows the titular code in Celine’s phone so he knows who she texts – other men are texting her, knowing the problems they’re having in the bedroom. Not empty handed, Celine is making a COVID doc, her way of spying. Celine and Jay’s life becomes the mockumentary while they have didactic conversations. Although sometimes, she films interviews with subjects like Phoebe (Ruby McAllister). But it’s only a matter of time until she points the camera back to Jay and herself.

Thankfully, Jay and Celine aren’t always at each other’s throats. They do things like going on escape rooms, under the ownership of a bumbling gamemaster BIlly (Nick Corirossi). And those are one of the few moments when they have their act together. They especially need to get their act together when Celine’s cousin Collette (Ivy Wolk) marries their realtor Parthik Miraj (Vishwam Velandy).

Finally, the vaccine comes, as The Code shows COVID induced realistic fever dreams. But there’s a twist, because after waking, Jay finds that Celine’s not at home. Despite their recent troubles, will he persevere enough to solve her mysterious disappearance?

The Code didn’t invent spilt screens but it competently fits form with content, and there’s something Delilo-esque about this, pointing to the self-inflicted nature of self-surveillance. The film crowds its but it thankfully doesn’t look too busy nor too distracting.

The Code‘s use of split screens have a sense of dynamism towards it – some depict B-roll while at others, it amplifies big comedy set up pieces. Those often involve other characters like Parthik, who doesn’t know what boundaries are.

All this technology, though, won’t work if The Code didn’t have compelling characters. Yes, I’m conflating compelling with annoying, but the two intersect. As this film progresses, the characters’ nihilism gets funnier, like a game that one eventually enjoys playing.

It helps that The Code holds up the com part of the romcom, both taking turns being the one feeling frustration and being the horny one. The cybersex scene has actors doing great physical comedy, and the screeplay has twists.

Sure, The Code touches on the surveillance state, as well as volatile changes, but it still follows traditional story beats, which feels like a relief in here. I’d rather a film have a good ending and this one has that.

Stream The Code, coming soon on MUBI.