A billionaire’s death sets off a chain of events for Iris and her friends during a weekend trip to his lakeside estate.
Chuck says:
Wicked clever and flat out fun, Drew Hancock’s “Companion” is not just another science-run-amok thriller. Razor sharp, it puts misogynistic behavior in its crosshairs, while launching broadsides at consumerism, techno-dependence, entitlement and self-isolationism. From that description, it may seem as if there’s a great deal of heavy lifting in store. However, it all goes down easy thanks to Hancock’s delicious darkly humor approach as well as his surprises-aplenty script, its whiplash turns all occurring logically within the movie’s insular environment.
Iris and Josh (Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid) are in the salad days of their burgeoning relationship. Enamored with one another, they seemingly haven’t a care in the world, as they set off for a weekend getaway. They’ve been invited by their friend Kat (Megan Suri) to a remote hideaway owned by her Russian boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend). Their friends Eli and Patrick (Harvey Guillen and Lukas Gage) will also be in attendance, they also, very much in love.
Of course, not everything is at it seems. There is obvious tension between Kat and Iris, as she doesn’t approve of Jack’s new partner, while Sergey is less than subtle in his attraction towards his visitor. Things go spectacularly sideways when he makes a move on Iris at a nearby beach, resulting in his being stabbed to death and her returning to the home, blood drenched, to deliver the news to the others.
That Sergey winds up dead is no surprise; the fact that Iris is a robot, is.
All of this occurs within the first 15 minutes and is just one of many startling moments Hancock has in store. Once this reveal takes place, we’re treated to a flashback in which we see Josh in his bland apartment, first getting Iris and programming her to cater to his every wish. Emotionally stunted, he adjusts Iris’ settings so that her intelligence is below his, her aggression level is subdued, and her sexual drive is heightened.
With her under his thumb, just how Iris would be able to kill anyone is the first mystery Hancock presents, the answer to which only prompts more questions, not so much about her, but those who control her.
Once Jack loses control of Iris – she’s one smart ‘bot, despite her tamped-down settings – Hancock takes us on a ride in which one surprise trips on the heels of the next, its social commentary dripping with dark humor and disdain. Jack and his ilk are revealed to be the true villains, issuing one complaint after another about how his life isn’t the way he imagined it would be. That this delusion of entitlement is widespread comes to the fore when two employees from the robot company recount the grisly manner in which some of their products are abused.
That we root for Iris is not simply because the humans are so deplorable but also due to Thatcher’s smart performance. She manages to combine the cold, calculating nature of a machine with a sense of all-too-human desperation to marvelous effect. Just because she’s made of nuts and bolts, doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to go on functioning, her desire to remain functional, something Jack does not reckon with. Thatcher’s combination of strength and vulnerability have us in her corner from beginning to end, while Quaid’s go-for-broke turn provides us with just the sort of villain audiences crave.
Much like its titular character, “Companion” is a well-oiled machine, its delivery of its timely message slick, quick and smart. There’s not an ounce of fat on this film, Hancock reminding us of the power of efficiency in this age of bloated movies. As a result, its meaning has more impact and delivered a feeling that’s become all too rare with the Hollywood product of late – it left me wanting more.
3 1/2 Stars
