Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher.Photo:Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Just such a miracle occurs when Iris meets Josh (Jack Quaid, who suggests a more puppyishJoshua Jackson). Iris falls instantly in love — a love that never wavers for an instant. Unfortunately, a love that never wavers may not respond well when it isn’t reciprocated. It might just go ahead and collapse into hell.
Companion,in its understated opening minutes, is preoccupied with Iris’s anxiousness as Josh drives her far out into the countryside to spend a weekend with his friend Kat (Megan Suri), Kat’s rich Russian boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend, having a good time ladling on the accent) and an easygoing gay couple (Harvey Guillén andLukas Gage).
Iris' problem, it turns out, is that she’s an android — even worse, arentalandroid — programmed to be Josh’s unquestioningly devoted sexual and romantic partner. In fact, Josh doesn’t take her any more seriously than the other guests, regarding her as the female version of an emotional security dog. You learn, for example, that he’s adjusted her intelligence settings downward to a low, easily commandable level. If he threw a stick and asked her to fetch it, she probably would.
But you’re about to witness the flip side of Iris' slavish obedience: Her love, when put to the test, triggers a passionate response so startling and violent that the weekend winds up a complete bloodbath.
Companionis a clever, suspenseful and absurdly funny film that isn’t terribly interested in Iris’ cyber details (in a flashback she’s delivered to Josh’s apartment in a plain coffin-shaped container). It’s really a cynical little essay about the nature of love and, specifically, about how Iris — something like the erotic-dancer heroine ofAnora— comes to realize that relationships and men aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. That love does not compute.
Quaid and Megan Suri.Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Companionnever stops springing surprises on you, but the greatest thrill is watching Thatcher’s carefully evolving performance as she charts Iris’ dawning, violent disillusionment, as well as Iris' thirst for her own independence as a self-validating android. Hell, it turns out, hath no fury like an android scorned.
Companioncould beM3GAN,2022’s nutty android-horror hit, reconceived as a tragic romance.
Companionis in theaters now.
source: people.com
