This review includes spoilers for the film “Companion.”
You would take a bullet for anyone you love, sure, but what would make you put a bullet in them?
“Companion” tells the classic story of girl meets boy, boy makes a fool out of himself, girl falls madly and deeply in love and then brutally stabs a corkscrew into his head.
When my AMC canceled their showing of “One of Them Days,” I chose the next best option: a movie with an interesting poster of a girl with white eyes and a creepy smile. I had seen the teaser trailer online a few months prior, along with 7 million other people, which hinted at a thriller with sci-fi elements. The only thing I knew going in was the film was going to be visually stunning, and the narrative would be jarring.
Picture your perfect partner. Do they already exist in your life or would you build them from scratch? “Companion” shows what life might be like if you picked the love of your life from a place somewhere in the middle, a shopping catalogue of perfect robot romantic partners.
Sporting an outfit that references Audrey Hepburn in the 1954 film “Sabrina,” Iris, the unknowingly robotic protagonist, looks slightly uncanny in a room full of humans, dressed like a vintage doll walking in the 21st century. The costuming visually hints to relationship values of traditional America, when being the best woman meant being the best woman for your man.
Iris is hopelessly devoted to Josh. Looking at the pair, they look like the classic example of “how in the world did that man get to date someone so perfect?”
Spoiler, he bought her.
With doll-like eyes and a charming smile, she carries his luggage into their vacation lodge, where she dances — and does a little more — with him whenever he wishes.
Meanwhile, Josh is just there, acting as the remote controlling his favorite toy.
The movie poses the ethical question of equality in a relationship versus prioritizing the satisfaction of a man. The plot then redirects and responds with a comedic yet terrifying sequence of events exploring the dangers of artificial intelligence, and how especially threatening AI can be if abused by human intentions.
The first murder of the film is marked when the once peaceful Iris stains her dress with the blood of a man she just killed begging for Josh to help. She doesn’t know why she performed something so villainous, she didn’t even know that she was capable of it.
With technology intertwined with daily life, the movie critiques the future of modern relationships by transforming AI, which has become a staple to many, into a robot that looks like real flesh and bone.
Their $10 million budget may seem small compared to the hundreds of millions Marvel spends on their movies, but it does not feel like a small production. The movie perfectly balances a limited cast of 11 actors.
With the leading woman, Sophie Thatcher, known for the TV series “Yellowjackets,” playing Iris alongside Jack Quaid, known for “The Hunger Games” and “The Boys,” as Josh, the movie stars two talented actors known for their dramatic range. Thatcher does a great job balancing portrayals of the deeply traumatic after a great betrayal, with confusingly funny thriller scenes.
The movie also casts comedic actors Harvey Guillén from “The Garfield Movie” and “Cursed Friends,” playing Eli, the antithesis of Josh’s character, and Megan Suri graduates from the teen comedy of “Never Have I Ever” to play the mature character Kat, giving the movie a comedic edge.
Iris has no control of herself when she commits her first atrocities, as her programming is manipulated by the humans around her — showing AI is only as bad as it is forced to be. All of her feelings are code, and yet as more blood stains her clothes, she carries the weight of her forced savagery and fights to have free will.
The movie also explores the other side of the argument with another AI-human couple, Eli and Patrick, showing what life could be like if humans and robots truly fell head over heels for each other. Eli, the human, fully embraces AI love, Patrick, treating him with the love and respect he would any human, if not more so. The two complete each other, one needing love, and the other loving to be needed.
The “Companion” release is solidifying the new era of comedy-horror films, joining great company like 2022’s “Fresh” and 2021’s “Don’t Look Up.” While the film is currently showing in theaters, you can also see it on Apple TV, alongside its catalogue of darker-toned works.
If you crave watching love twist into hate, this movie is for you.
Rating: 4.5/5
