Putting aside my frustration for movie marketing that spoils the big twists in trailers for the sake of immersion, “Companion” remained nonetheless a compelling bit of sci-fi to close out this admittedly decent January month. So did they literally save the best movie of this month for last with this one?
No. But it didn’t need to be, I guess?
With ambitious projects like this, it’s imperative that most directors, improvisation or otherwise, have to work towards an end goal as much as the journey it takes to get there and its easy to see the roadmap Drew Hancock pitched for his destination. But how he navigates that journey is fairly airless at best and hand-holdy at worst.
Yet another film that takes the constraints of its limited production design and pushes them to as far as they can take it, Scott Kuzio’s efforts are a double edged sword. His efforts to make the sets imposing and isolated are commendable and there’s clearly generosity within the placement of these settings while not so subtly purporting its worldbuilding to fit more in tow of where we might be heading. But that decent bit of irony also hinders itself because no true sense of tension or suspense boils out of the actual environments themselves; still, I’d classify both the cinematography and editing under competently crafted with an endearing retro-pop bubblegum color palette to at least help everything pop.
Tension and suspense are built up gradually well enough, I love the attention to detail in the costume design, with Iris being distinctly spiffy and 50’s coated in her attires while everyone else is more simplistic in theirs, giving away their intentions early, Hrishikesh Hirway’s score is less memorable than the soundtrack but also more bearable to listen to despite the significance of the songs chosen and clashing better with the sound design, and for an R-rating, it feels pretty tame until the last act.
Pacing only just barely avoids feeling bloated.
Thankfully, solid acting was in play from everyone, even if the dialogue they’re stuck with isn’t the most ideal and the comedy didn’t hit me. Jack Quaid owns his cheeky “good guy” complexion to mask his more odious, insidious nature but Sophie Thatcher’s the beating heart for this film, bringing layered stoicism and vulnerability in a role against type where she has to process and change so much so quickly.
Chemistry between everyone is thankfully sharp if a little bit wobbly.
For an exaggerated look at the inner workings of an abusive relationship, this is practically an episode ripped straight out of Black Mirror. How we navigate them, how they change, and how they might look in a not-so-distant future, it's deeply relevant in an era where technology continues to blur the lines between connection and isolation and despite the 90 minute runtime, shoestring budget and how the basic beats of this film are easy to predict from several country miles away, the structure makes all of that easily digestible. A decent balance is strung out between both low stakes bonkers and internal consistency and that, in a way, helps tie into the exploration of the what-if’s about the role of technology in relationships, tackling both the promise and peril of AI in a world growing increasingly both interconnected and disconnected from our humanity. As many bearish primitive asshats boast “Your body, my choice” without taking consideration of the consequences, the echoes of that icky statement make it easy for this film’s events to resonate with anyone.
That being said, this is a giant conglomerate blend of other films cut from a similar ilk such as Fresh, Blink Twice, Ex Machina and even Barbarian, all of which highlight the consequential problems of poor socialization, incel culture, and/or institutional misogyny. And it’s another tell, don’t show type of movie: one that recognizes the potential to fully lean into the premises dramatic, comedic and horrific potential but plays its cards way too safe for those efforts to matter. There’s a bunch of contrivances and inconsistencies to have certain moments occur, it’s final act denouement is carried out on a shrug, and much of the film’s satire is either plainly on the nose or can’t hit the broad side of a barn-door.
Sure, what this film ends up doing is technically better than being cagey with its intentions, but said intentions are somehow both lazy and unlazy at once.
While not particularly thoughtful and evocative beyond the outline and regurgitated boundaries of its concept, Companion goes for a more comfortable, safer approach and makes a fun exercise out of efforts that should’ve be as advanced as the narrative it tired to tell.
