If you relish surprises, don’t even think about watching the trailer for “Companion,” Drew Hancock’s near-future horror-comedy. Springing a new twist or revelation — not to mention a fresh corpse — seemingly every ten minutes, the movie’s shock-and-awe pacing may be its most effective weapon.
For one thing, the propulsiveness of the plot precludes any pondering on its message or possible subtext: “Companion” is all text, all the time. Cycling smoothly through multiple genres — rom-com, crime thriller, slasher sendup — the movie assembles a broad satire of gender dynamics from scraps of sci-fi and a generous dollop of technophobia. At its center are Iris and Josh (Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid), whose love connection in the produce aisle amid a tumble of tangerines seems almost too perfect, because it is: It’s just one option in a drop-down menu of meet-cutes that new owners of a robot like Iris can choose to imprint on her memory.
There are further programming choices, some more consequential than others, as revealed when Josh and Iris join four friends for a weekend getaway at a luxury lake house. There’s the oily Sergey (Rupert Friend), the home’s wealthy owner, and his self-described “accessory,” Kat (Megan Suri). Joining them are Eli and Patrick (Harvey Guillén and Lukas Gage), whose lovey-dovey relationship may not be as perfect as it appears, notwithstanding Patrick’s enviable hair and impressive kitchen skills. And there are hints that Iris herself, despite her mind-blowing finesse between the sheets, might offer too much of a good thing. By the time a switchblade makes an appearance, I guarantee you will have no clue as to its destination.
Wrapped in a membrane of smoochy retro-pop and bubble gum colors (the sharp-eyed cinematographer is Eli Born), “Companion” takes potshots at the male desire for dominance, while profiting from a warped sense of fun and the logical rigor of Hancock’s script. (As is evident in one notable interaction between Iris and a police officer.) The film’s satire is barn-door broad, its humor sidelong and sharp enough to take the edge off the gore. Real-world warnings slink past almost as asides, like the pitfalls of our growing dependence on apps and on the emotional support of artificial partners.
From the start, we are encouraged to favor machine over human. In one scene, two sexbot-company operatives note the deplorable ways in which their products have been abused. Josh himself is gradually revealed as a picture of male grievance, whining over a system so rigged against him that he can’t even afford to purchase Iris. She’s a rental.
A decade ago, the terrific television series “Humans” examined, in considerable depth, the emotional, social and legal bonds between us and a synthetic underclass. Today, as trolls bray “Your body, my choice” across the internet, “Companion” resonates. One can imagine not a few of those online primitives wishing for Irises of their own.
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