What’s It About
A billionaire’s death sets off a chain of events for Iris and her friends during a weekend trip to his lakeside estate.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
This new sci-fi movie starts out looking like a sweet romance but quickly turns into something much darker and more interesting. When Josh meets Iris at a grocery store between the oranges, it seems like the perfect love story – but there’s a catch. Iris isn’t human – she’s actually a rental robot programmed to be the perfect girlfriend, complete with fake memories of their first meeting. The brilliance of this setup is how it plays with our expectations of romantic comedies, using familiar scenes and tropes before completely flipping them on their head. The story kicks into high gear when Josh takes Iris to a fancy lake house for a weekend trip with friends. There’s Sergey, the rich Russian owner who’s kind of sleazy, with his over-the-top accent and outdated mullet-mustache combo that feels straight out of an 80s movie. His girlfriend Kat seems oddly hostile toward Iris, making pointed comments about feeling “replaceable.” The group is rounded out by couple Eli and Patrick, who appear to have the perfect relationship – though Patrick’s squeaky-clean image and perfect cooking skills feel just a little too good to be true. As the weekend unfolds, the peaceful getaway turns into something much more sinister, with each character revealing hidden motives that add layers to the story. Sophie Thatcher does an amazing job playing Iris, making you forget she’s supposed to be a robot while dropping slight hints that something’s not quite right. Her performance walks a delicate line between being sweetly obedient and quietly defiant, especially as the story progresses. Jack Quaid plays Josh as the kind of guy who seems nice at first but shows his true colors bit by bit, especially in how he treats Iris after intimate moments by coldly ordering her to “go to sleep.” His character perfectly captures that specific type of toxic guy who thinks the world is against him despite his obvious privileges – something made even more interesting by Quaid’s own background as a celebrity kid. The movie keeps you guessing by throwing in surprise after surprise. Just when you think you know what’s happening, it takes another sharp turn. It smoothly switches between different types of movies – from sweet romance to crime story to horror – all while keeping its dark sense of humor. There are some really funny moments mixed in with the tension, including great one-liners about tracking apps for missing robots. The film manages to balance these different tones without feeling messy, using humor to make its darker moments hit even harder. At a tight hour and a half, the movie doesn’t waste time. While it might have a few plot holes, they’re easy to overlook because the story moves so quickly and keeps you hooked. Each scene builds on the last, creating a steady rise in tension that pays off in satisfying ways. The director knew exactly when to reveal its secrets, timing each surprise for maximum impact. Even small details early in the movie have more significance later on for those viewers that knew what to look for. The film has something to say about how men treat women, dating in today’s world, and our growing dependence on technology for emotional support, but it never gets preachy about it. Instead, it weaves these ideas naturally into the story, using its sci-fi premise to explore very real issues. The relationship between Josh and Iris serves as a perfect lens to examine power dynamics in relationships, while the wider world of the movie raises questions about artificial consciousness and the ethics of creating beings designed to serve human desires. The movie’s bright, colorful look provides an interesting contrast to its darker themes, with the cinematography using warm, inviting tones that make the violence and tension feel even more shocking when they arrive. The lake house setting is used especially well, turning from a luxurious retreat into something much more claustrophobic as the story progresses. While it might not be as deep as classics like Blade Runner or Ex Machina, it’s still a smart and entertaining take on similar ideas. It’s particularly clever in how it handles the relationship between humans and artificial beings, especially when showing how badly some people treat their robot companions. If you’re planning to watch this movie, try to avoid the trailers – going in blind will make all the twists and turns much more enjoyable. The marketing seems designed to hide the movie’s true nature, which is exactly how it should be for a film that relies so heavily on surprise. Despite being released in January, when studios typically dump their worst movies, this one stands out as a pleasant surprise that’s both fun to watch and gives you something to think about. It proves that even familiar sci-fi ideas can feel fresh when handled with style and intelligence.
OUR RATING – A CONTROLLING 7.5