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Poster Description: The poster is black with white lettering. “David is 11 years old. He weighs 60 pounds. He is 4 feet, 6 inches tall. He has brown hair. His love is real. He is not.” David’s silhouette spells out A.I. in large, silver lettering. |
The word “disturbing” gets chucked around a lot these days. You only have to turn on the news to see it in action (ooh, getting political in a review introduction, it must be a Thursday), but plenty of films fit that category. 2000’s Ginger Snaps brought me out in a cold sweat. 2007’s The Mist is Stephen King’s worst archetypes gone wild, but I can’t shake the sinking horror I feel when that warbling score hits as the film ends. Hell’s teeth. Then the ever-silent, ever-homicidal Al in Terrifier left me scratching my head, but reports of audiences vomiting at its sequel stopped me from pursuing it further. None of these films have made my skin crawl as much as A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
Though released in 2001, it is unnervingly prevalent now. In a post-climate change world, coastal cities are completely underwater, and the world’s population has been drastically reduced. But who cares? Humanoid, emotionless robots, known as Mechas, are being built, and of course, humanity always strives for more, so the next step is a robot child capable of love. Enter prototype, David (Haley Joel Osment).
Image Description: David holds a furry robot
teddy. The boy’s expression is serious. He stands in a futuristic space with a
neon sign resembling Einstein.
A.I. is based on the 1969 short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long by Brian Aldiss. 2001: A Space Odyssey director Stanley Kubrick originally worked for two decades to get the film made, and he asked for Stephen Spielberg to direct it because the tone better suited him; they collaborated before Kubrick’s death in 1999. Personally, Spielberg’s habit of leaning heavily on schmaltz in his work leaves me cold (I haven’t forgiven him for how his adaptation of War of the Worlds ended). However, I was surprised to learn many of the film’s darker aspects were Spielberg’s ideas; the “sweeter” parts were actually Kubrick’s. Y’know, the man who allegedly drove Shirley Duvall close to a nervous breakdown for The Shining.
David is assigned to the Swintons, whose son Martin has been placed in suspended animation while he fights a rare disease. His parents are terrible, unlikeable people: the father (Sam Robards, American Beauty) acquires David without consulting his wife, even though her real, human child is technically still living. Monica (Frances O’Connor) is understandably freaked out initially, but she accepts David too quickly, so the plot moves on. The Swintons’ real son, Martin, recovers because there needs to be another conflict. He is played by Jake Thomas, better known for playing Lizzie Maguire’s insufferable brother; Thomas played a brat incredibly well, and the attitude remains here.
Along with ill-fated food-related antics, and an alarming instance with a swimming pool, all of which is pure nightmare fuel, Martin introduces David to Pinocchio and the magical Blue Fairy. Herein is the crux of David’s character arc. Eventually, Monica abandons David like a dog in the woods (one would argue it was inevitable), and he tearfully asks, “Why do you wanna leave me? Why do you wanna leave me? I’m sorry, I’m not real. If you let me, I’ll be so real for you,” It’s heartbreaking yet unsettling, and we ain’t even halfway through.
Desperate to find the Blue Fairy and become a real boy, David finds himself at the Flesh Fair. This isn’t the worst place he ends up in, although the fair is dedicated to using robots for violent sports. Chris Rock makes a very brief cameo, so that’s cool. There, David meets…Gigolo Joe. Played by Jude Law, he is a prostitute robot, who is supposed to be irresistible, literally channelling musical numbers from Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly with a tilt of his head. Except Joe looks more like Rotten Robbie’s pretty brother – once you think about it, you can’t unsee it! There’s a subplot where Joe is running from the law for a crime he didn’t commit, but don’t expect it to go anywhere. He takes David to Rouge City, which is like Pleasure Island for horny men. Yes, it is as uncomfortable as it sounds, desperately paying homage to Blade Runner, however intentionally. As with any Spielberg film, it’s no surprise that John Williams wrote the whimsical score. Normally, I love his work, but it feels manipulative and not in a good way with A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
A bad film creates no reaction within its audience, so I cannot call A.I. that. With that said, I won’t watch it again any time soon. The plot, while alarmingly plausible now, falls into Spielberg’s wheelhouse of heavy-handed darkness and sentimentality. In short, I’m surprised by how strongly I felt about A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, especially that bizarre ending. I came away feeling nothing but disgust and horror. Human beings are the worst.
My Rating: 2 STARS OUT OF 5
My Sources:
AI: Artificial Intelligence poster - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212720/
Image: David and Teddy - https://www.caseymoviemania.com/a-i-artificial-intelligence-at-20-when-spielberg-meets-kubrick/
What was AI: Artificial Intelligence based on? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertoys_Last_All_Summer_Long
How much did Kubrick and Spielberg collaborate? - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212720/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv
When did Stanley Kubrick pass away? - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000040/?ref_=tt_trv_trv
Sam Robards filmography - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Robards
Frances O’Connor filmography - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_O%27Connor
Quotes from the film - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212720/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu
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