I Am Mother (2019)
Coming out of Sundance earlier this year, I Am Mother had a bit of buzz behind it as an intriguing sci-fi movie so of course, I was excited when it was picked up by Netflix meaning I was pretty much guaranteed a wide release of the film. Finally, they set the release date for early June and where the conversation was not that huge surrounding it there were people out there talking about how good it was. I sat down to watch it not really knowing what to expect and was actually pleasantly surprised by it. Sure its nothing overly incredible or new but it actually was interesting and I found myself getting quite a bit invested into its world and its characters.
There has been some kind of global event leaving most of the human population wiped out. Luckily though humans had enough hindsight to store thousands of unborn fetuses in an underground bunker that could survive through this disaster. Led by a robot only known by Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne), the first of these fetuses are born and named Daughter (Clara Rugaard). Together Mother and Daughter live as a family and everything seems to be going good until out of nowhere a woman (Hilary Swank) appears from what Daughter was told was an unhabitual world and tells her that things are not as they seem. Daughter has to choose between believing in Mother who has cared for her all her life and this woman which gets even more complicated as secrets are revealed from both sides and everything she thought she knew becomes questionable.
It was this plot that I knew was either going to make or break this movie for me, we have seen so many movies where the robot seems good but then turns out to be evil and I knew if it went down that route it would end up feeling cliched and uninteresting. I had no interest in seeing another telling of that same plot that has been explored time and time again which is why I was so happy with what this movie ends up being. I apologize for being a bit vague here but where they do have elements of that basic plot there is much more here as far as moral questions, there really isn't a good and bad side which I loved. Instead, it presents different logics that sure are flawed but make logical sense and actually makes the audience think. I found myself intrigued by this movie and looking to discuss with others what they thought of the moral dilemmas brought up in the film. The only slight issue I have with how they portray this is some of the character decisions, there was a bit of a disconnect between the audience and especially the character of Daughter and I found myself disagreeing with some of her choices but its not like the film tries to say she is totally right, its simply a different side of the argument and the film does respect both sides enough to where it didn't ruin the movie for me or anything. I also will say that especially as this woman appears there are a lot of perfectly timed coincidences that have to happen to move the plot along that can be distracting at times.
It was this plot that I knew was either going to make or break this movie for me, we have seen so many movies where the robot seems good but then turns out to be evil and I knew if it went down that route it would end up feeling cliched and uninteresting. I had no interest in seeing another telling of that same plot that has been explored time and time again which is why I was so happy with what this movie ends up being. I apologize for being a bit vague here but where they do have elements of that basic plot there is much more here as far as moral questions, there really isn't a good and bad side which I loved. Instead, it presents different logics that sure are flawed but make logical sense and actually makes the audience think. I found myself intrigued by this movie and looking to discuss with others what they thought of the moral dilemmas brought up in the film. The only slight issue I have with how they portray this is some of the character decisions, there was a bit of a disconnect between the audience and especially the character of Daughter and I found myself disagreeing with some of her choices but its not like the film tries to say she is totally right, its simply a different side of the argument and the film does respect both sides enough to where it didn't ruin the movie for me or anything. I also will say that especially as this woman appears there are a lot of perfectly timed coincidences that have to happen to move the plot along that can be distracting at times.
A lot of why this works so well is the characters, specifically, the character of Mother was one I really liked and found interesting. They don't just make her out to be an average basic robot but one with complex feelings and emotions. Sure she calculates everything and is incredibly smart in situations, but she does have emotions and desires and to see these two sides of her interact and come together proved to be really interesting. Where the other characters are not quite as complex or as interesting they still work and have some really strong performances behind them. Clara Rugaard really impressed me as Daughter, with younger performances you never really know what to expect and this is a weird character to play as she has to have her entire world perspective put into question but I thought she did an amazing job at this. She comes off as so innocent and bright and is really good in opposition of Hilary Swank who comes off as so scared and almost guilty. You constantly feel like she is hiding sides of herself and her story and I think these two very different characters and performances bounce off each other very nicely. This movie also looks absolutely amazing, using a really smart blend of practical effects and CGI everything in this movie looks great. You can tell that characters like the robot actually have a weight to them due to their use of a practical base suit and it gives the actors something real to play off of. This world they live in also has some really unique and cool elements, right off the bat you see the big egg looking machine that is used to grow the fetuses in just 24 hours and even the concept of having the fetuses at all. These are not huge things that most will have to stand out to them but as you are watching it does make the world feel more unique and interesting.
Overall especially with it being widely available on Netflix I absolutely would recommend I Am Mother to nearly everyone. It is an engaging and interesting watch that goes beyond your standard sci-fi robot movie and leaves the audience with plenty to digest and think about.