Russian Roulette (2014) tells the story of Lucy, a lonely woman living in London who uses Chatroulette to talk to strangers. During one session, she connects with a cosmonaut aboard the International Space Station, forming an unexpected connection. The short film examines how people cope with loneliness by escaping into social media and seeking interaction with others online.
2. Background and Plot
• Russian Roulette was directed by Ben Aston in
2014. It was made for under £50 while in pre-
production for another movie. Russian Roulette
has been nominated for two film awards, one
from Jameson Cinefist for the international film
festival for short and experimental films. It was
also nominated for the Short film grand jury prize.
• Lucy, who lives alone in London, is struggling to
talk to people and has started to use Chatroulette
to find people to talk to. She is ready to give up
when she connects to a cosmonaut in the
International Space Station. This leads with them
forming a connection with one another.
3. Analysis
• Russian roulette shows the loneliness many
people experience, and how they deal with it
by escaping to social media. People such as
Lucy escape from their real life to talk to
complete strangers on Chatroulette. Many
young people nowadays do this, and
completely zone out around them and
completely be absorbed in order to get away
from their real life. When Lucy is on
Chatroulette she is shown to be talking about
her everyday life, boring parts of her life that
she would otherwise not talk about. She is
using any excuse to continue talking to
people, as she is clearly lonely.
