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

From: Dustin Putman <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 06:10:32 -0000

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence      * * * * (out of * * * * ) 

Directed by Steven Spielberg. 
Cast: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, William Hurt, Sam 
Robards, Jake Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, April Grace. 
2001 - 145 minutes 
Rated PG-13 (for profanity and sexual situations). 
Reviewed by Dustin Putman, June 30, 2001. 

Loosely based on the story, "Supertoys Last All Summer Long," by Brian 
Aldiss, and the late Stanley Kubrick's dream project up until his death in 
1999, "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" is as accomplished a motion picture as 
anything director Steven Spielberg has ever made. Following Kubrick's 
unfortunate passing, Spielberg, who had prior been collaborating ideas with 
him concerning "A.I.," decided to make it his next directorial effort, both 
as a movie that he was passionate and excited about, and as a loving tribute 
to one of the great masters of the cinema. 

The end result of the long, arduous, 25-year journey of "A.I." is a 
science-fiction film filled with endless imagination and wonder; a mature, 
almost devastating fairy tale; and a thought-provoking rumination on the 
importance of love, and determined hope, in one's life. The movie is, indeed, 
a Spielberg production, although it does feature an icy, somehow bleak, 
emotional core that is certainly Kubrickian in spirit, and undoubtedly 
intentional. Using the approach of differing styles of moviemaking (with 
Spielberg more of a wide-eyed optimist) turns out to work extraordinarily 
well in this film's case, as the picture is deeply touching and effective 
without being maudlin, and occasionally sterile without coming off as 
cold-hearted. 

Set in a futuristic setting, following the melting of the ice caps which has 
drowned entire U.S. cities (including Manhattan), Professor Hobby (William 
Hurt) has created a string of mechas--robots with the physical appearance of 
humans--to live in the world. With all mechas having been made into adults up 
until this point, Hobby introduces his most life-like creation yet: an 
11-year-old boy named David (Haley Joel Osment). Programmed to be able to 
love (the first of his kind to be able to do such a thing), David is taken in 
by Monica Swinton (Frances O'Connor) and her husband, Henry (Sam Robards), as 
a child "substitute" for their own young son, Martin (Jake Thomas), who has 
been cryogenically frozen while they await a cure for the disease he has. 

At first creeped out by David, Henry and Monica quickly warm up to him, and 
in Monica's case, falls in love with what is now her new son. Aside from not 
being able to eat or sleep, David is exactly like a regular boy, delighting 
in mimicking and picking up new information, as well as being able to play 
games. When Martin suddenly awakes from his comatose state and begins to get 
better, he rejoins his parents' lives, and in the process, David 
progressively loses the attention and, through a series of circumstances out 
of his control, made to look potentially dangerous. Forced to get rid of him, 
but not wanting him destroyed by the company for returning him, Monica drives 
David into the forest one day, and leaves him there alone, with only a 
mechanical, talking teddy bear as company. 

Leading up to its release, "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" was purposefully 
advertised in an obscure manner that didn't give away much of its premise, or 
hardly any scenes from the film itself. This was the wisest choice anyone 
could have made, as "A.I." is a gloriously creative film that prospers from 
its sheer unpredictability, and constant reminder that it is not just another 
"dumb sci-fi movie," but a motion picture overflowing with exciting ideas and 
relevant themes. 

Believing that Monica will love him if only he becomes a real boy, David sets 
off to find the Blue Fairy from the fairy tale, "Pinocchio," whom he 
earnestly believes is the only one with the power to grant him his wish. On 
his journey, he meets a fellow mecha named Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), whose name 
reveals what he has been programmed to do. Joe is a cynic, but forms a bond 
with David, and consequently, helps him to accomplish his mission, even if it 
is a lost cause. It is never clear to the viewer if the Blue Fairy does 
genuinely exist, and this mystery is what fuels the entire second half of the 
film. 

Haley Joel Osment (2000's "Pay It Forward") is a revelation as David, even 
more so than in 1999's box-office smash, "The Sixth Sense," which led him to 
an Oscar nomination. At only 13-years-old, Osment's ability to convey utter 
realism and subtlety in each of his performances is remarkable, to say the 
least. This has never been so apparent as right here, in a difficult and 
complex role as a sympathetic character who is, nonetheless, not real, but a 
machine. Osment must carry the whole movie solely on his shoulders, and he 
hits every note exactly right. Simply no other child actor could have done as 
refined and impressive of a job. 

The cast that surrounds Osment is truly fine, as well. Jude Law (1999's "The 
Talented Mr. Ripley") is self-assured and appropriately cocky and cool as 
Gigolo Joe. Law  plausibly paints Joe as a person (read: robot) who is suave, 
undeniably sexy, and devoted to pleasing women. As the increasingly 
distraught, yet caring, Monica, Frances O'Connor (2000's "Bedazzled") is 
heartbreaking, particularly in the bravura sequence in which she takes David 
on a trip that she knows will only have one of them returning home. Finally, 
William Hurt (1998's "One True Thing") is emphatically low-key and memorable 
as David's inventor, Professor Hobby, who may have an ulterior motive behind 
his creation of a mecha child. 

The technical credits of "A.I." are awe-inspiring. Spielberg regular Janusz 
Kaminski's cinematography is both beautiful and understated, as is John 
Williams' unusually poetic music score. And the production design and visual 
effects, by Industrial Light & Magic, are a sight to behold. There are images 
throughout that will stick with you long after the lights in the theater have 
gone up, especially the depiction of New York City engulfed in an endless 
sea, as well as the haunting underwater creation of Coney Island. 

A tragic, if inspiring, motion picture event, there are impassioned issues 
about humanity that are brought up which will resonate with every viewer. And 
the imagination and artistry which the film has been made with is 
second-to-none. To watch "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" is to experience a 
visually astounding and emotionally rewarding triumph that, in time, is sure 
to go down as one of the all-time brilliant achievements in modern 
moviemaking. Stanley Kubrick sure would have been proud. 

  - Copyright 2001 by Dustin Putman 
    http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Dustin+Putman 

* Coming Soon - My Official Movie Review Web Site, 
themovieboy.com *

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X-RT-RatingText: 4/4