Written by Marina Coates
In his feature directorial debut, Companion, Drew Hancock flips the killer robot trope on its head by making Iris (Sophie Thatcher), an AI Companion robot, the protagonist. The film opens with Iris recounting her meet-cute with now-boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) in which she tells us, “There have been two moments in my life when I have been happiest. The first was the day I met Josh. And the second, the day I killed him.” This is the eerie introduction we’re given before we’re thrust into an idyllic couples weekend away at a remote lake house.
Iris and Josh join their friends Kat (Megan Suri), Eli (Harvey Guillén), his boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage), and Kat’s boyfriend, the absurdly rich, misogynistic, married, Russian, Sergey (Rupert Friend) at Sergey’s “cabin” on a lake that he essentially owns (well, he just owns all the land around it, not the water).
As the group settles in for their first night together, Kat confides in Iris that she doesn’t like her because she makes her feel replaceable and that, to Sergey, Kat is just an accessory, like his car. The idea of companion robots existing at all can be seen as a commentary on how men view women. The delivery man from Empathix Robotics tells Josh, “She’s yours to do whatever you want with.” Iris is both an object and a girlfriend. Yet, Kat, who is a human, is also viewed as an object by Sergey. So, it seems companion robots don’t make life any easier for women in the film’s world. But, lest you get the idea men are the only ones trying to control others, Kat, it turns out, is just as bad as Josh. In the end, Iris says it best when she tells Josh it’s his greed that got them into this situation. Every character in this film thinks they deserve more than they get from the world and ultimately, this is each of their downfalls.
Both Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid truly shine in this film. Thatcher’s Iris was a believable robot companion whose undying love and devotion to Jack seems human enough when needed, but never wavered too far away from the programed obsession she was built to exude. It wouldn’t seem like it on the surface, but the role of Iris is demanding, constantly evolving, and complex, but Thatcher handles it beautifully and breathes life into the robot she plays. Quaid, although playing a human, finds himself needing to adapt throughout the film as well and does so with ease. The two leads maintain chemistry through the many changes in their characters’ relationship and play their parts wonderfully.
Hancock, who both wrote and directed the film, expertly balances comedy, romance, suspense, and gore in this 97-minute film. The script may not be entirely well thought-out (it often fails to adhere to the rules of the world and the technology it introduces), but Companion provides a fun, campy experience that nods to deeper themes.
