Classic Review: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Steven Spielberg and Ian Watson. Based upon the short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss.
Cast: Haley Joel Osment, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards, Jake Thomas, Jude Law, William Hurt, Brendan Gleeson

Overview
A collaboration between cinematic masters Stephen Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a sublime story about a robot's journey towards becoming a "real" human. Outside of a problematic ending, this is a near perfect motion picture with powerful acting, writing, and direction.

Synopsis
Following global flooding caused by global warming, humans are forced to rely increasingly more on robots, known as mecha, that are controlled by highly sophisticated artificial intelligence programs. When software expert Prof. Hobby creates David (Haley Joel Osment), he gives him to human parents Henry and Monica Swinton (Sam Robards and Frances O'Connor). Henry and Monica are both wary of their new charge, but Monica soon finds that David can fill an emotional hole caused by the coma her biological son Martin (Jake Thomas) is in. When Martin wakes up though, David is soon ostricacized and then abandoned by his human family. The problem is that David had been programmed to love and he believes the only way to have that love returned is to become a "real" boy. Thus begins David's quest to find the blue fairy, a character from The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi that David believes has the power to make him real.

The Queering
A.I. attempts to tackle a whole host of provocative philosophical questions. At point can it be said that a machine is sentient? Would conscience thought mean that the machine would therefore be capable of human emotion such as love? If we made a machine capable of loving us, would we owe that machine anything in return? And most importantly, what does it mean to be human?

Naturally, this philosophical inquiry means that A.I. is a highly ambitious film. Although I should point out that sometimes the film's reach exceeds it's grasp, as not all the answers provided are necessarily all that substantial. But I would much prefer an ambitious film that fails in all that it attempts over mediocre crap that aspires to little.

One area where A.I. does not disappoint is with the technical elements. There is some truly awesome cinematography and set design here. The glimpses of a flooded New York City - complete with still standing twin towers as A.I. was released only a few months before 9/11 - are hauntingly beautiful and eerie at the same time. In fact, all of the technical components, from the score to the editing to the special effects, are superbly executed.

The acting by Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law as synthetic humanoid machines is also superb. Haley Joel Osment is particularly interesting as David, who suggests that there is something different about David through slightly exaggerated mannerisms and by rarely blinking. No one else really is around long enough to leave much of an impression.

Then of course there is the ending, which is the film's weakest element by far. There are several natural endings that occur earlier that the filmmakers could have chosen but for whatever reason, did not. The cathartic nature of the ending led many to speculate that Spielberg, rather then Kubrick was the creative force behind the ending. Spielberg however later refuted that notion, claiming that the ending was in the original treatment by Kubrick. Regardless of who's idea the ending was, it still is extremely creepy and provides an unnecessary closure to the main storyline.

Of course, while the ending does not work as far as the characters or plot are concerned, it does work on a thematic level by providing an interesting Biblical parallel. In Genesis, after God had given life to human clay, he walked amongst Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. As time goes on though, God becomes increasingly more distant from humans and by the time of the New Testament, he has to send a human son in order to deliver a message to the human race. This mimics the role humans play in the development of Artificial Intelligence here. At the beginning we humans are still playing a significant role in our creation, but the ending leaps forward several millennia, to where we have become extinct, leaving our mecha creations to evolve without us.

Recommendation
Strongly recommended. Issues with the ending aside, there is nothing artificial or unintelligent about this movie.

The Rating

Trailer


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Queer Review: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: John Lee Hancock based upon the novel by John Berendt
Cast: John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Jack Thompson, Irma P. Hall, Lady Chablis, Jude Law, Alison Eastwood, Paul Hipp, Geoffrey Lewis

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a slow moving character study, that is if we consider the place of Savannah, Georgia to be a character in of itself. The movie is based upon the book of the same title by John Berendt, which tells the story of his experiences in the town during a high profile murder investigation.

Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey) is a wealthy and closeted gay man, whose annual high profile Christmas party is being covered by John Kelso (John Cusack) for a magazine article that Kelso was commissioned to write. Shortly before Kelso was planning to fly back to New York, a shocking event in the form of Williams shooting and killing his young lover Billy Hanson (Jude Law) - makes Kelso decide to stay and investigate these events in the hopes of writing a book. Williams claims that he acted in self defense, but that does not prevent a murder trial from commencing where Williams sexual orientation could sway a jury towards rendering a guilty verdict.

While John Kelso aids Williams defense teams, he meets and gets to know Savannah's colorful cast of characters. There's Lady Chablis (played by herself) a flamboyant female transgendered performer, Minerva (Irma P. Hall) a mysterious Voodoo practitioner, Joe Odom (Paul Hipp) a high class squatter, and Luther Driggers (Geoffrey Lewis) a man who keeps flies as pets and carries a bottle that he claims contains enough poison to kill everyone in Savannah. Kelso also meets and woos Mandy Nicholls (Alison Eastwood) a character not found in the novel.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil moves slowly, arguably too slowly at times. Eastwood directs with a steady hand, establishing a moody atmosphere and capably depicts the colorful cast of characters. The film's stumbling block comes in the final third when the plot gets dragged down with the details of Williams trial. The film's strongest sections are where Kelso meets and gets to know Savannah's colorful citizenry. Once the grand jury has delivered the indictment, the film becomes moribund in familiar movie trial tropes and trivial details.

Acting wise, Lady Chablis is a standout, providing a memorably sassy performance. Kevin Spacey is also very good playing a rich Southern dandy with a subtle flamboyance and just the right amount of ambiguity. John Cusack tends to have trouble distinguishing himself amongst the more colorful cast, but that is not a problem as the role does not require him to do much. His character is mostly a witness to the events and it is not until later on in the proceedings that he becomes directly involved.

Overall, I feel confident recommending Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in spite of the flawed later sections as it does not entirely obscure the films strengths. This is a pleasant movie with interesting characters and that also touches upon some deeper themes.