Three stars. Rating: R, for profanity, sexual candor and brief nudity
By Derrick Bang
Writer/director Spike Jonze’s new
fantasy is an intriguing cautionary tale aimed squarely at the narcissistic,
self-absorbed millennials who increasingly behave as if social media isn’t
merely an acceptable substitute for personal contact, but in fact deserves to
become the preferred method of
interaction.
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| After confessing that he may be falling in love with his computer operating system, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is surprised when his longtime friend Amy (Amy Adams) doesn't react with disgust. Indeed, she seems quite okay with the concept... |
In that respect, Jonze displays
an uncanny instinct for depicting our deeply disturbing near-future, if such conduct
continues unchecked along its current path.
Much as I admire the message,
however, the delivery system leaves something to be desired. At 126 minutes,
this film is self-indulgent to a fault, moving s-l-o-w-l-y to the point of
ponderous tedium, en route to a resolution that we can see coming from miles
away.
Were Rod Serling alive today,
I’ve no doubt he could have turned this premise into a dynamite half-hour
installment of his Twilight Zone TV
series (assuming placement on HBO or some other pay-cable network, to preserve
the essential adult themes). Jonze, taking a much more leisurely approach,
drags us for an monotonous ride that had me checking my watch during the entire
second hour.
Jonze burst onto the cinema scene
with 1999’s Being John Malkovich —
which brought him an Academy Award nomination for best director — and has built
his subsequent big-screen career on eccentric and downright bizarre
relationship dynamics. He most famously teamed with screenwriter Charlie
Kaufman for 2002’s Adaptation, the
latter insisting on co-crediting that script with his “fictitious twin brother”
Donald, both of whom were depicted in the film by Nicolas Cage.
Adaptation was an alternately hilarious and
disturbing analysis of the creative process, and Jonze’s new film certainly
follows that template. But instead of a fictitious twin, this story’s
co-protagonist is the disembodied voice of a computer operating system that
possesses intelligence, perception and a capacity for emotional growth.
In other words, the perfect
example of artificial intelligence.
The setting is Los Angeles in a
“slight future” that is a welcome utopian relief from the Blade Runner-esque hellholes envisioned in too many recent sci-fi
films. The overall infrastructure in this vision of Southern California looks
and feels familiar, aside for a greater emphasis on towering buildings, and the
ambiance is warm, comfortable and embracing. People wear nice clothes, the
weather seems ideal, food is plentiful and tasty, and there’s no trace of
crime, neglect or poverty.
OK, so maybe it’s a bit soulless
... which is, of course, precisely the point.
