Cinema Travelogue

Releasing at the tail-end of Dumpuary, Companion stars Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid as a couple travelling to their friends’ lake cabin for a weekend getaway. In the beginning, Thatcher’s narration declares that by the film’s end, Iris will murder her boyfriend Josh. Along with the official poster and trailer, the film’s lack of intention to hide its major plot twist is evident. Iris is an Android robot built to provide emotional support, but most importantly – even he desperately tried to ride this off during the film – have sex with Josh whenever he likes. The film’s choice to rip off this conceit as fast as its plot allows is agreeable. The dramatic and comedic beats before the first-act twist are more than awkward and noticeably sloppy – like someone trying to shove a giant cat in a closet that obviously does not fit – you can see its tail. By unveiling its biggest secret firsthand, Companion grants itself a more comfortable position for the smaller, more delightful twists to reveal themselves more organically.

With the premise settled in, one can easily see through all the themes Companion intends to tackle. I remember in Bill Burr’s Netflix special Paper Tiger from 2019, one of his greatest bits was about a sex robot that laughs at all of your jokes and watches football with you while giving you a blowjob. Iris is in the vicinity of this concept, a technology so advanced it carries the personality that solely fulfills the one-sided, idealistic male-fantasy version of a partner. The advanced algorithm finds a way to allow the user to inculcate one out of many meet-cute scenarios during the robot’s genesis so it believes its user is “the one”. One can argue this connects to certain type of relationship in real life where one has their head too deep – growing an unhealthy attachment, even addiction to the other – while the other complacently exploits this dynamic. Given how the situation quickly turns awry and Iris is forced to confront the truth, this concept does not have much room to breath and the parallel is barely in its thematic factory setting before it is jettisoned for more surprises. Instead the film is jolly when satirizing Josh’s quiet, but deeply aggressive need to own Iris as well as her love. A typical modern-day, self-loathing tech guy stereotype that has become more prevalent in Hollywood movies these days, as they are very easy targets.

The granular twists and turns of Companion should not be spoiled. As much as the film frequently falters through contrivances like many of its type, it propels through a tight 97 minutes because of its two extremely well-cast, comedically attuned performances. Sophie Thatcher reminds me of a slightly younger Anya Taylor-Joy. If the same movie was coming in 2019, Taylor-Joy would’ve swallowed the role whole; but given her recent shift into the action genre (Furiosa, The Gorge), her presence may have been too firm and aggressive for a submissive role. Thatcher brings an innocuous feminity that she subverts cleverly during the movie’s more violent scenes. Her version of a robot is so advanced her expressions will pass for a human if the script does not remind you that Iris has a setting to be turned on and off. This is not a dig in Thatcher’s performance, but a compliment to how she manages to convey many minute physical details while being very expressive through her facial expressions.

Jack Quaid, with a contingent of ostensibly nice, twisted boyfriend roles such as The Boys and Scream, epitomizes his persona that makes one think such a person indeed exist and will do what he does if our technology has advanced to that point. Within his weak persona, there is an uneven dissatisfaction that is exacerbated throughout the film. His character resembles the growing number of people who have become passive in their reception of the world – always waiting for the shortcuts and things to arrive on their own. The film’s concept is reminiscent of a less serious Ex Machina. However, whereas the mystery and thrill of that film lies in the cryptic performance of Alicia Vikander, Companion ultimately finds its twist in how far it is willing to go down the rabbit hole of Josh’s obsession.

At one point during the film, a worker from the companion robot company remarks on the many twisted things people have done to their robots. With the arrival of A.I. in almost every area of our lives, movies have become more pertinent in addressing how the innovation of technology will complement the worst in us. Companion is not a film that aesthetically or thematically raises any new discussions, it instead uses these premises to create a fun, typical cat-and-mouse structure with a few deviations. The mix of comedy and seriousness would often make its overall commentary barebones, but for a release in January, it is a solid movie to kill time with.