Companion Is Finally Here: The Movie Has 94% on RT, but Is It Really That Good?
This is a flick that seems deeper than it actually is.
Companion is Drew Hancock's debut feature that balances at the intersection of science fiction, horror, comedy, and even detective fiction.
The result is something between Greg Jardine's comedy-horror It's What's Inside and Franklin Ritch's outstanding melancholy dive into android psychology The Artifice Girl.
What Is Companion About?
Iris is an android that looks and acts like a human, but in reality exists solely for the comfortable leisure of her owner, Josh. Iris' program is simple: to be the perfect girl without any desires or opinions of her own.
For a long time, this order of things seems to be the only correct one for the girl, but everything changes when one day the couple goes for a weekend to a country house, where they meet Josh's friends. As soon as they enter the house, Iris realizes that she feels like an outsider.
The situation escalates when one of the guests dies, and Iris finally learns that she is not a person, but an object whose actions can be controlled and whose program can be turned off or reprogrammed.
Companion Is a Metaphor of Abusive Relationship
The movie is not only about Iris and her self-discovery, but also about her relationship with the man who owns her. Josh, played by Jack Quaid, is a classic good guy who turns out not to be so nice in reality.
He does not yell or act aggressively, at least not at first, but Josh's control manifests itself in other ways: in a constant diminution of her importance, in a gentle but undeniable dominance, in the confidence that he has the right to rule.
Even when the situation spirals out of control, Josh is unwilling to acknowledge Iris's right to independence, preferring to simply shut down her mind, reducing her intelligence level from 100 to 0.
This moment becomes the key metaphor of the movie: a loved woman can be smart, but only as long as she does not claim a place at the head of the couple.
Companion Is Not a Deep Exploration, But a Light Entertainment
The problem with the movie is that everything is too obvious. Companion offers no original development of the stated topic of the confrontation between man and robot or man and woman.
The plot twists are predictable, the characters follow clear, long-established archetypes, and other themes that could be developed more deeply are presented in a simplified form.
Only at first glance does Companion seem like a movie with something important to say about relationships, freedom, and self-determination. Despite its social focus, it remains more of a genre entertainment than a sharp statement.
What we have here is a light, dynamic, visually appealing thriller that tells a familiar story and combines easily guessed references to Alex Garland's Ex Machina and Spike Jonze's Her.