Subject: Review: A.I. (2001)

From: Bob Bloom <[email-masked]>
Date: 7 Jul 2001 03:44:27 GMT

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Haley
Joel Osment, Jude Law, Brendan Gleeson, William Hurt, Sam Robards and
Frances O'Connor. Music by John Williams. Based on a short story by
Brian Aldiss. Based on a screenplay by Ian Watson. Screenplay by Steven
Spielberg. Directed by Spielberg. Rated PG-13

 It is easy to see why the late Stanley Kubrick believed Steven
Spielberg would be the perfect director for his A.I. Artificial
Intelligence, just as it is understandable why Spielberg was attracted
to the material.

 For here we have another lost boy trying to find his way home, an
outcast seeking family, themes very familiar from most of Spielbergís
body of work from Sugarland Express to Close Encounters of the Third
Kind to Empire of the Sun to Hook to Saving Private Ryan, naming just a
few examples.

 A.I. is set in an undefined near future in which giant technological
advances have led to the creation of robots who serve every purpose from
housekeeping to fulfilling sexual fantasies. It is an era when robots
are treated merely as sophisticated appliances.

 The last great leap in robotic evolution is the addition of emotions,
and with the number of births limited by the government, many couples
are yearning for children.

 And Professor Hobby (William Hurt) has the solution. A robotic boy
named David (Haley Joel Osment), who is programmed to love. As a test,
David is placed with Henry Swinton (Sam Robards) and his wife, Monica
(Frances OíConnor). Their natural-born son has been cryogenically frozen
until a cure can be found for his illness.

 The first third of A.I. deals with Davidís life with the Swintons and
how that is changed by the recovery and return of their son, Martin.

 Circumstances force David to be cut off from the Swintons. He is
abandoned and alone. David, highly influenced by the fairy tale,
Pinocchio, feels that if he becomes a real boy he can rekindle Monicaís
love for him.

 The filmís second act follows Davidís search for The Blue Fairy, whom
he believes will be able to fulfill his wish. During these adventures he
meets and is helped by Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), a robot who specializes in
sex.

 Spielberg is at his top form in this sequence, offering a brutal ìFlesh
Fairî where robots are destroyed via sadistic methods for the amusement
of paying customers.

 Here, is where Kubrickís influence is strongly felt, as the movie
explores the fear and distrust humans have for robots. The savagery
conjures up images from the late directorís A Clockwork Orange.

 At about two hours and 30 minutes, the film begins to falter during the
last 20 minutes, a sequence that seems most Spielbergian with images
that appear to be borrowed from Close Encounters.

 It is all very anti-climatic and jarring. These scenes seem almost
superfluous, as if from a different film.

 A.I. is a dark fairy tale that deserves its PG-13 rating. It is a story
combining hope and intolerance, sacrifice and bigotry, and while it does
not coalesce perfectly, the movie does offer some disturbing images.

 But A.I. is really a showcase for the acting talents of the amazing
young Osment. If ever an actor deserved an Academy Award nomination, it
is this lad, who brings a sense of joy and wonder to the role of David,
a being created for the express purpose of loving.

 He beams when with Monica, beaming with love, as eager as a puppy to
please. After being left in the woods, he is confused, lost, hurt,
focusing on one objective: To become a real boy and find his way home so
he can redeem himself in his motherís eyes.

 Law is pleasant as the care-free robot who really doesnít understand
Davidís quest, but is nonetheless happy to help him on his journey.

 Probably the toughest role is OíConnorís Monica. Playing an emotional
fragile woman who sees David as a substitute for her lost Martin, she
grows conflicted after her boy returns and she begins to perceive David
not as a second chance, but as a threat to her family.

 She gives her character enough emotional chaos that you cannot fault
her for her course of action.

 Many of A.I.ís futuristic sets are breathtaking, especially a mostly
submerged New York, lost to the world by the melting of the polar ice
caps.

 A.I. is a flawed film, and you cannot get through the entire feature
without pondering ó even subconsciously ó how it would have turned out
with Kubrick instead of Spielberg behind the camera. Would it have been
darker? More cynical? We will never know.

 We can only judge what is before us on the screen, a collaboration of
two cinematic giants. A.I. is a most interesting and thought-provoking
examination of a future that is quickly gaining on us.

 Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette,
IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email-masked]. Other
reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on
golafayette.
 Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Data
Moviebase site: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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