The Poppies of Terra #49 - Love Is In the Script

Cultural programming, or laboratory coding; organic emotions, or synthetic heuristics; committed connection, or substrate obeisance; forever together, or a fAIry tale ending? The world of Companion (written & directed by Drew Hancock) is one in which none of Josh’s (Jack Quaid) friends bat an eye at his having an android girlfriend named Iris (Sophie Thatcher). Initially, Josh seems affable enough, though there are a few early signs of a gross imbalance in his relationship with Iris, and we’re not sure how much Iris knows about her own true nature. So far, so Philip K. Dick. Josh and Iris drive a smart car to a secluded lakeside estate for a get-together with two other couples. Iris expresses nervousness and anxiety; she doesn’t feel welcome by one of the friends, Kat (Megan Suri). This is the definition of ironic foreshadowing.

Their host, and owner of the magnificent property, is Sergey (Rupert Friend), Kat’s boyfriend. He is caricaturishly Russian, exuding charm, mystery and menace. (Is he connected to the Kravinoffs by any chance?). As the three couples spend time together during the movie’s first act, we begin to suspect that there are scripts beyond the frame, some roles deliberately played and some unwittingly so, wheels within wheels, as the song goes, and windmills in the mind. Without spoiling the particulars, I’ll say that events come to a violent head as part of an initially orchestrated set of circumstances that rapidly snowball out of control. The ensuing two thirds of the film are largely focused on numerous plots and twists that explode with dark humor and are pregnant with social commentary, particularly regarding questions of autonomy, toxicity in relationships, jealousy and insecurity, status anxiety, and hubristic entitlement. Tonally, Companion is a delight, perfectly meshing the kind of black humor and satire that arises from a youthful group like that in Bodies Bodies Bodies with the wind-up soberness of a Hitchcock thriller; Blade Runner meets Head Above Water by way of A Simple Plan, with some Stepford Wives energy thrown in. Plotwise, too, the film is relentless, exploring all manner of sideways implications in what are essentially Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics spruced up for a modern audience. It’s less of a whodunit and more of a whatnextit. 

It’s the kind of film that’s marvelous to see once, and possibly even more so a second time, but I think will yield diminishing returns after that. The screenplay’s preponderance of narrative gyrations, shocking reveals, and sharp observations is held together by sheer momentum; all of it unfolds against a deliberately vague background that doesn’t withstand much critical thinking. There are at least two or three sequences, which while deliciously engrossing in the moment, are not designed to endure scrutiny. For example, how likely is it that a police officer, in this retro-future that boasts self-driving cars and emotional support androids, wouldn’t have near-instant access to a simple translating app, something we already possess today? Wouldn’t a police vehicle be easily trackable by the authorities? Why doesn’t Josh use a key phrase at certain moments, while it’s still effective, to gain the upper hand? Wouldn’t Empathix, which it is established have created countless safeguards for their customers, naturally have cloud-based backups of their androids’ data and footage? And so on. Companion’s events move at such a gallop that we don’t have time to examine their logical connectedness. We’re caught up in a whirlwind of emotions and, well, counter-emotions. Knowing how to achieve this effect is its own kind of storytelling intelligence. We have a wicked good time, skating over the ice of worldbuilding smoothly and with a number of stylish pirouettes. But if you backtrack and try to study the terrain, beware that it will likely crack beneath your feet, casting you in the chilly waters of implausible, if not ridiculous, Ex Machinations. The questions raised by Companion are indeed like a circle in a spiral; best to move on after the images unwind.

Heart Eyes (dir. Josh Ruben) presents another tale of manufactured romance, this time blending the romcom and the slasher. I say “manufactured” because even though the coffeeshop meet cute early on between marketing campaign creator Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt) and ad designer and crisis manager Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding) is supposed to be genuine, the film knows, and clearly signals to us, that these characters have been configured to operate strictly within genre confines. Their relationship will follow the traditional romcom arc, albeit interrupted by a few brutal killings.

Initially, Heart Eyes held me in its gory and laugh-out-loud thrall. The Scream-esque opening is bold, riotous and blood-soaked. But as the story progressed, I found myself having a hard time caring about the leads’ relationship. The chemistry, alas, I felt was underwhelming, an absence that no amount of flashy hack-and-slash sequences could offset. Something about Gooding’s studied reactions felt less than convincing, and I’m not sure the script ever fully explains his behavior during the inciting after-work dinner. The comportment of Detective Jeanette Shaw (Jordana Brewster) also took me out of it from her very introduction. Still, I did continue to chuckle occasionally throughout, and found Gigi Zumbado as Monica, Ally’s friend, a highlight. I will also praise the effects of the kills, and some of the more perverse moments of humor.

Both of these outings combine familiar tropes and tones in diverting ways. And they both go by swiftly–with an identical running time of 97 minutes. If you’re lookin’ for love, these may be the wrong places, but if you’re in the market for some mischievous escapades, you’ll get your money’s worth.