The latest dark comedy Companion, written and directed by Drew Hancock, is not your average love story. As one may have surmised from the film’s trailers and promotional material, the main storyline revolves around the relationship between a man and his programmed robot companion. Though it sounds like a generic sci-fi romance flick on its surface, Companion gained traction for its take on AI and relationships. With recent advancements in tech and commentary on women’s rights and autonomy, many films have been released in the last decade that have tackled those topics, such as Don’t Worry Darling or Ex Machina. But how does Compainon compare?
Spoilers Ahead
The film opens with Iris (Sophie Thatcher) recalling her first time meeting her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid). As Iris walks through the isles of a supermarket with her curtain bangs, winged eyeliner and retro style of dress, a scene akin to The Stepford Wives, we hear Iris’ voiceover talking about the darkness that can cloud our view of the world, only to be broken by moments that give life meaning and purpose. She cites two of these moments as the day she met Josh– and the day she killed him.
We then cut to the couple on their way to a weekend getaway at Josh’s friend’s lakehouse. Iris is anxious about seeing Josh’s friends as she suspects they don’t like her, his friend Kat (Megan Suri), in particular. We get the sense that Josh is somewhat dismissive of Iris’ concerns. Once they arrive at the lakehouse it’s clear that Josh’s friends Eli (Harvey Guillén), his boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage) and Kat and her boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend), who owns the lakehouse, treat her differently. Eli and Patrick seem to ignore her while Sergey ogles her and Kat appears to be jealous of her.
The next day, when Iris goes out on the lake, Sergey attempts to sexually assault her and she kills him in self-defense. Iris comes back inside the cabin, covered in blood, and attempts to explain what happened before Josh says “Iris, go to sleep,” We see her eyes roll back as she shuts down– confirming that she’s not as she seems.
Iris wakes up tied to a chair as Josh tells her that she is a companion robot he rented from a company called Empathix and that none of her memories are real. He controls everything, including her emotions, intelligence, ability to lie and levels of aggression via a tablet. Josh and his friends’ grand plan unfolds when it’s revealed that he planted the weapon that Iris used to kill Sergey, intending to pin the murder on her so they could take Sergey’s money and run. After this revelation, the film really kicks off and the story’s central themes come into play.
Companion differs from classic stories about AI in that, instead of fearing it, in this story, we empathize with it while the humans controlling the AI are the source of fear. Iris’ entire world falls apart as she realizes the man she’s devoted to doesn’t love her at all and was using her the entire time. When she gets ahold of the tablet used to control her, she finds that Josh has set her intelligence level to 40% to make her more docile and unquestioning. When she adjusts her intelligence level to 100% she experiences a range of emotions and uses them to take action. So we root for her, the AI, to come out on top.
Hancock said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: “Originally, the very first incarnation of the idea, Iris was the villain… Then I realized, ‘This would be interesting to tell the story from the point of view of the robot. What if the robot was the most human character in the story?’ That’s when I fell in love with the idea… It’s not AI gone wrong, it’s AI gone right.”
The main antagonist, Josh, is an example of a person’s existing issues being exacerbated by the introduction of AI, specifically misogyny and loneliness. As previously stated, Josh is using Iris. He uses her for sex, validation and even murder. He doesn’t love her but rather how she makes him feel and what she can do for him.
This is countered by Eli and Patrick’s relationship. During an argument about how the group will split Sergey’s money, it is revealed that Patrick is also a companion robot. Their relationship is portrayed as Eli genuinely loving Patrick, and when Patrick discovers he is a robot, he does not care because he loves Eli too. However one could argue that both Iris and Patrick are victims.
A highlight of the film is that it makes the audience reflect on our impending overreliance on AI. With programs like ChatGPT and Character.AI becoming increasingly popular, AI is affecting socialization and interpersonal connections. As AI progresses, these programs’ generated responses increasingly mimic human responses. There are even real-life stories of people developing romantic relationships with AI. The companion robots in this film are fully customizable to create the “perfect partner” with many people in this film’s universe abandoning the struggles of building relationships with real people and opting for artificial connection instead.
While the film’s AI commentary works, once you begin to view it as a film about misogyny and female empowerment the cracks begin to show and it starts to feel like an imitation of other stories we’ve seen recently. The concept of a young woman reclaiming her power in a patriarchal society is a very popular one in recent thriller/horror films like Promising Young Woman, Blink Twice, Fresh and Ready or Not. In those films where the antagonists aren’t overtly evil initially, Companion falters somewhat with its villain, Josh.
During the film’s climax, Josh, in a monologue to Iris, says that the world is rigged against people like him. He feels he is owed something from the world and blames his failings in life and relationships on external circumstances. However, we only hear him saying these things. We get no real insight into Josh or why he feels this way. He is a one-dimensional characterization of the misogynistic, incel types commonly depicted in these films, rather than a fully fleshed-out character, making the film’s story beats seem predictable and its conclusion feel half-baked.
The film, instead of fully delving into these topics, only scratches the surface. For instance, the only other female character, Kat, is underutilized. There is a scene early on in the film where Kat tells Iris she believes Iris is there to replace her. Throughout the film, Kat is reduced to a side character with unclear goals or motivations, ironically taking a Xanax and being put in a back room for a chunk of the film. Expanding on a rivalry between the two could have added an interesting layer to the story as Kat could have represented internalized misogyny. Alternatively, their dynamic could have represented female solidarity by having her empathize with Iris as she gains autonomy.
Companion isn’t overly concerned with any deeper thematic messaging it may convey and doesn’t necessarily need to cement itself as one of the greats in the history of feminist film. It was ultimately meant to entertain which it succeeds at. Not to mention it looks great with the film’s direction being one of its highlights along with its performances. Thatcher’s portrayal of AI companion robot, Iris, is reason enough to go give it a watch!
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