Bliss

Bliss is a 2021 American drama film written and directed by Mike Cahill. It stars Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek, and follows a middle-aged man (Wilson), recently divorced and estranged, who suffers a psychotic break when he is fired from an unhappy job. Befriended by a homeless woman (Hayek), he gradually falls deeper into what appears to be drug addiction. He struggles to discern reality from fantasy. The viewer is left to question whether he is actually caught up in a layer-upon-layer simulation or whether he is experiencing drug-induced psychosis. The film initially aims to portray Wilson's character as an overworked divorced dreamer, lost and confused, while keeping a strained relationship with his adult children. It then evolves into an emotionally frenetic psychological storyline, where the viewer is drawn along with the characters and left to decide what is "real" and what may be a simulated reality. It was released on February 5, 2021, on Amazon Prime Video, and received mostly negative reviews from critics, who compared it unfavorably to The Matrix. Plot Greg Wittle spends his work hours daydreaming and drawing. After he is called to his boss's office, forgetting his wallet on his desk, Greg's wallet glitches out. Greg discovers his medication cannot be refilled without a doctor represcribing it. After he is fired, he accidentally kills his boss and conceals the body before leaving the office for the bar across the street.