The Mosley Review: Companion
Films like the anime Ghost in the Shell, I,Robot, and Ex Machina have all expertly explored the ideas of how an android powered by an advanced artificial intelligence could learn what it means to be human and how human they become by the end of the story. Its a concept that is always fascinating to explore and is somewhat frightening how much closer technology has come to replicating what is shown on screen. Even though this film is a sort of love story turned horribly wrong, it still shows the deep disconnect that occurs in us humans when we've become so reliant on tech that we forget how to be humane to another person. Its a common theme that happens in films like these, but I love how it was portrayed by the lead characters. The question of "What if a robot can feel love, pain or freedom?" is wonderfully developed here and in a timely matter. Most films would dive almost too heavy in the existential nature of the story, but this one keeps it moving.
Sophie Thatcher was dazzling as Iris. Now I intentionally only watched the first trailer of the film to preserve the surprises and mystery of the story so I will do that for the rest of the review. After about 20 minutes or so, my blindness went away and I figured out what her secret is. Sophie delivers an amazingly subtle performance as she goes on an insane emotional rollercoaster with the character. Her movements actually were telling and hinted at things early. I loved her raw emotion to the many truths being revealed and evolution of the developing heart and soul she had. Jack Quaid is always great and as her boyfriend, Josh, he starts off as a regular guy that you could see yourself hanging out with. The chemistry between them was electric and I loved every moment they were together. As the situation gets deeper with them, it was more heartbreaking and darkly hilarious. Rupert Friend was excellent as the Russian house owner, Sergey. For the amount of time you spend with him, he becomes that slimy dude that's in every story and eventually becomes the catalyst of the plot. Megan Suri was good as the very judgmental friend, Kat. She was just along for the ride in the end, but she was also the only one with any form of a conscience. Harvey Guillén and Lukas Gage nearly stole the film out from under everyone as Eli and Patrick. The both of them had a true love story that was so heartfelt and heartbreaking in so many ways. Harvey was very much a stand up guy that showcased the fun of their relationship while Lukas wonderfully portrayed the great level of devotion and truth.
The score by Hrishikesh Hirway was dreamy in the more romantic scenes and perfectly intense once the main plot kicks off. This wasn't a very visual effects driven film, but when they were at play, it was excellent and seamless. I loved the interfacing of the companion robots and how insanely life like the calibration was. Like I said before, Sophie delivers not only and emotionally brilliant performance, but its her subtle physicality that was impressive. This was a surprisingly fun sci-fi dark comedy that has the right amount heart to keep you invested in all the characters and the tension filled plot. Its definitely a fun date movie. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
