By Seth Lukas Hynes
Companion
Starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid
Rated MA15+
4/5
Companion is a smart, darkly funny sci-fi psychological thriller.
Iris (Sophie Thatcher), a companion android owned by Josh (Jack Quaid), becomes a pawn in a murder plot at a remote cabin.
Thatcher delivers a compelling, versatile performance: deeply caring, realistically afraid and resourceful.
Quaid is a disturbing but very plausible antagonist, embodying certain men whose terrible attitudes toward women lurk beneath their nice guy exteriors.
Without giving too much away, Lukas Gage plays Patrick, a sweet guy who takes on a Terminator-like intensity later in the film.
Companion’s taut, fast-moving plot explores themes of emotional labour, women being reduced to objects and relationships built on control, and features some clever misdirects and culminating details.
Companion draws upon sturdy internal and external conflict, with Iris betrayed by her own programming as Josh and his friends hunt her through the woods, and the film takes care to present its characters as
morally-grey people in a rapidly-deteriorating situation.
Companion would make a fun double-feature with M3GAN – the good and bad guys are reversed, but the body count is about the same – and could easily take place in the same universe as the video game
Detroit: Become Human.
While the witty screenplay is tightly-written overall, the cabin’s shady owner Sergei (Rupert Friend) is underdeveloped, a small aspect of the climax feels rushed, and there is some mixed messaging in how Iris only gains her independence through programming intervention by her abuser Josh.
It’s also a shame how the surprise of Iris being a robot was blown by the marketing.
A tense, intelligent thriller with feminist themes and plenty of nuance and dark humour, Companion is playing in most Victorian cinemas.
