I Was Made for Loving You

My opening line for the Companion writeup was going to reveal something about the film that you probably already know. But what if I'm the one who ruins it for you? I STILL haven't forgiven [NAME REDACTED] for spilling the ending of Fight Club in my 1999 high school philosophy class without warning. 27 years is a long grudge to hold, but as someone with a good 1/8 to 1/4 of Sicilian blood flowing through my veins, I must use caution.

Companion's 'twist' (sold in the marketing and introduced about 20 minutes into the film) will be mentioned below. So if by some chance you're able to approach the film like an innocent baby doe with no semblance of the world around you or the movie, watch it first.

Onward to the rest of us hardened hags.

Quick Plot: Iris is a beautiful young woman happily reminiscing about the two best days of her life: when she met-cute her boyfriend Josh at a colorful but poorly constructed grocery store, and when she killed him.

Yes, we're still in this very frustrating era of horror films not trusting their audience and assuring them that THINGS WILL GET VIOLENT while spoiling the actual trajectory of the story.

Anyway, Iris is reluctantly accompanying Josh for a weekend getaway at a glorious lake house owned by Sergei, the shady Russian boyfriend of pal Kat. Iris knows Kat doesn't like her and feels a little uncomfortable around Josh's friendlier pals, couple Eli and Patrick. Still, she loves Josh too much to let it show and they settle in for some fun.

In the morning, Josh's hangover keeps him inside while Iris heads to the lake alone. Sergei, already a bit flirty, seizes his chance to put on some moves. Iris resists.

Covered in blood, Iris returns to the house to plead her case of self defense. Josh shuts it down.

Literally.

Because she's his robot.

Much like Abigail and a slew of recent genre films whose early twists are too key a selling point to hide in marketing, Companion lives in an uncanny valley with audience awareness. Every ad I saw about Companion seemed to pretty clearly indicate that Iris wasn't human, yet the script is rather shockingly able to have it both ways. The first 20 minutes are playful about Iris's identity in a way that makes the reveal still shocking for someone who didn't know, but not a waste for those who do.

This is a clever film, which makes its decision to open by telling us its ending all the more frustrating. 

Writer/director Drew Hancock has a great touch. His script is snappy, and his talented young cast has the exact right energy to deliver it with panache. As Iris, Sophie Thatcher finds a beautiful balance of humor and hurt. You care about this darn robot, and not just because her human is such a jerk. 

I don't always love a story about humans abusing robots. Despite (and maybe because of) my luddite rage over current society's ill-informed reliance on AI, I sometimes have a hard time feeling much sympathy for a soulless machine. Iris was built and programmed. It's gross to see how Josh treats her, but do we feel bad for Barbie when a kid rips her head off? 

Companion doesn't quite get over that hump for me, mostly because Iris feels unresolved on the page. Thatcher is absolutely wonderful in the role, but her actions (particularly towards the movie's end) don't quite add up in a way that lets me understand her. Maybe that's part of the actual story (she's still in beta), but it does make aspects of the story a touch unsatisfying.

Still, this was a fun, breezy watch. Hard to nitpick when I had such a good time. 

High Points

As a big What We Do In the Shadows fan, I'm not surprised that Harvey Guillén is a delight here, but I was rather tickled at how his subplot with boyfriend Lucas Gage played out

Low Points

Without spoiling (although again: the movie does this in its first five minutes), the last act's final violent conflict doesn't really make sense with who Iris is at this point in time. Hancock had somewhere to get and had to have his characters make some nonsensical decisions in order to get there

Lessons Learned

Not bad doesn't necessarily mean good in Russian

You never don't take a Xanax

Automatic wine openers are more than just white elephant gifts

Rent/Bury/Buy

I found myself really enjoying Companion. The script has some shortcomings, but as a debut, it makes a great case for Drew Hancock's future. You can find it on HBO or Hulu.