Bartleby

During a routine commute, the Boss notices a quiet man standing on an overpass. Convinced the applicant might suit the workload, he interviews him and offers a job despite vague answers. This encounter sets the stage for the strange dynamic to come.

Bartleby explains he worked at a dead letter office for eight years but offers few specifics about his life. His quiet, peculiar manner unsettles the Boss, yet there are no other applicants, so he is hired. The office begins to adapt to his unusual presence.

Initially, Bartleby is an efficient worker, completing what would take a week in just a few days. He quietly handles the filing tasks that come his way. His performance raises the staff's hopes at the office.

Asked to verify important documents, Bartleby responds with I would prefer not to and confines himself to filing. He spends long stretches staring at a vibrating vent above his desk. The office starts to feel the strain of his refusal.

One late night, the Boss brings a date to the office and catches Bartleby disturbing the scene. The Boss realizes Bartleby has begun living in the workspace. The staff becomes aware of the strange habit.

The Boss tries to reason with Bartleby about his life and purpose, and the staff begins to mirror the word prefer in their vocabulary. Bartleby refuses to do any more work, claiming he has given up working, and the Boss fires him, giving him until Friday to leave. The tension rises as the office worries about its reputation.

On Monday, Bartleby has not left the office and questions swirl about his purpose there. The Boss and staff increasingly wonder why he stays while doing nothing. The atmosphere grows hostile as the deadline approaches.

To avoid the escalating problem, the Boss moves his operations to a new building. Before departure, he offers Bartleby a letter of recommendation, and a repairman retrieves a dead bird from the vent above Bartleby's desk. The situation becomes a dead letter in more ways than one.

Days later, the new owner and the landlord arrive insisting on Bartleby's case, and Bartleby refuses to leave the building and sleeps in the hallway. The Boss feels pressured but tries to wash his hands of the matter. Eventually, he yields and seeks a real solution.

The Boss offers to help Bartleby find a job, but Bartleby again declines all options. After the police arrest him, he is released onto the streets. The Boss, compelled by appearances, continues to worry about the consequences for his reputation.

The Boss learns Bartleby is weak and delirious from starvation and notices his own life has been shaped by their encounter. He invites Bartleby to live with him, hoping to care for him, but Bartleby declines and withdraws. The encounter underlines the cruelty of the system.

The Boss tries to secure food for Bartleby at a soup kitchen but meets resistance; the cook shows indifference to Bartleby's plight. He waits in a long line, hoping for mercy, while Bartleby remains unseen by the world.

When the Boss returns with food, he finds Bartleby has died. He discovers Bartleby's letter of recommendation in the coat, realizing it has become a dead letter. The Boss staggers away and heads toward the same overpass where he first met Bartleby.

Sometime later, the Boss resigns and writes a memoir about his time with Bartleby, only to be rejected by a publishing agent who finds the subject too depressing. He insists the story must be told, shouting his mantra I would prefer not to. The agent tells him to leave, and he stays to watch the buildings on the hills.

In the final shot, the Boss fixates on the vibrating vent and repeats the phrase, while office towers rise on hill-like landscapes, isolating them from the world. The film closes on the same sense of detachment that began the story, suggesting Bartleby's influence lingers. The Boss's gaze returns to the overpass that started it all.