I Am Mother (Grant Sputore, 2018) wr. Michael Lloyd Green, prod. Kelvin Munro, Timothy White; Rose Byrne, Hilary Swank, Clara Rugaard; scifi; released 18 July
A teenage girl (Rugaard) is raised underground by a kindly robot 'Mother' (Byrne's voice) - designed to repopulate the earth following the extinction of humankind. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger (Swank) arrives with alarming news.
Films such as I Am Mother have dangerous structures, in that they pile on buildup at the risk of a potentially unsatisfying resolution. Until the final act it is difficult to know whether, by restricting the scope of the story, the film-makers has boxed themselves into a corner or played their hand cleverly.
Here it is more the former than the latter. I Am Mother doesn’t have the psychological heft of Ex Machina or 10 Cloverfield Lane, with an unexceptional finale that loses grip of its most interesting psychological questions. Still, it’s not devoid of interest or impact. In its handling of a family dynamic the film is, as Mother might say, governed by different parameters. The way it subverts (to say the least) traditional concepts around a parent/child relationship gives it uniqueness and value. Luke Buckmaster, Guardian.
Garry Gillard | New: 7 June, 2019 | Now: 12 June, 2020