A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: E.T. WITH A KUBRICK EDGE

A.I. Artificial Intelligence, from Warner Brothers Pictures and Dreamworks
Pictures, is a fascinating film, one that will hold your attention for all
146 minutes of its rather-lengthy running time. The film just misses making
it into the echelon of really great films- I suspect, in the long run, it
will be primarily remembered for the performances of Haley Joel Osment and
Jude Law-but it is still highly worthwhile.

Compare it to most of the fluff we see these days, and you know where to
spend your money.

A.I. is a sort of fairy tale, I suppose, for it has the fantasy, love
story, fanciful creatures, and paradoxical fear that is common in such
tales. Behind its tender and troubling love story, there are elements of
action/adventure, science fiction, psychological thriller, and black comedy.
In that respect, it is curiously unique, although-incredibly-the film is
notably reminiscent of Bicentennial Man in story (but, thankfully, not in
quality) and other films, like Toy Story, Pinocchio, Mad Max, Close
Encounters, and Eyes Wide Shut, in particular scenes.

The film credits director Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment
production company, as well as the production company of the late Stanley
Kubrick. This is based upon Spielberg’s creative discussions with the
highly-revered director about a story that would carefully blend science and
humanity. Sort of like 2001: A Space Odyssey meets E.T.

But don’t expect perfect balance between the Spielberg and Kubrick camps;
Kubrick surely would have taken a more precarious road than this. And while
there does seem to be an ongoing tug of war between the visions of the
directors, E.T. clearly wins the day. In my estimation, this is 80%
Spielberg and 20% Kubrick. Still, the Kubrick influence is a positive one.
Hal raises his ugly head now and then, and we get something like E.T. with
an edge.

Osment plays David, an artificial boy who has been adopted by a young
couple, the Swintons (Sam Robards and Frances O’Connor), whose young son is
terminally ill and cryogenically frozen until the time that a cure for his
condition is found. David is thus the replacement child, and we are
immediately confronted with moral questions: Should a machine be programmed
to love? Can a mother love her non-human child? There are also some
technological questions, like whether or not a machine that is programmed to
love will necessarily learn to hate.

Warning: some minor plot spoilers follow! The conflict begins when the
couple’s real son, Martin (Jake Thomas), is miraculously cured, and a
sibling rivalry develops between the two boys. This is an uneven match, for
all inferences will be viewed in favor of Martin and against David. And it
is often quite creepy, for we are never quite sure whether someone or some
thing is about to lose it. Be that as it may, before long, David’s
continuing existence in this family is threatened.

As David’s journey into mock-humanity continues, he encounters another
robot, Gigolo Joe (played hysterically by Jude Law), who is programmed to
satisfy lonely women in this futuristic world. David and Joe form a
much-needed alliance and help themselves as true human friends would.
Meanwhile, there is a growing hostility to these artificial life forms, and
a band of angry humans has made it their goal to rid the world of this
pestilence.

The film can be divided into three segments: David and his family; David on
the road; and finally the climactic resolution of David’s search for love.
The first and second segments are quite strong, but the third segments
falters a bit. There is too much exposition, too little conflict, and a few
logical flaws. The resolution is more than a little forced.

While some may call it safe, sugar-coated, or too much for young kids, the
film worked quite well for me. The story, by Spielberg, is better than 90%
of the other scripts out there. The technical team Spielberg has assembled,
including an Oscar winning cinematographer, editor, production designer,
costume designer, and composer, is in a class of its own. And the meeting
of two legendary directorial visions is unique.

But more than anything else, Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law make this into a
must-see experience. Osment is like a child-version of Brando; he is able
to reach a level of acting excellence that few other actors in the world
have ever seen. Law is also remarkable in a performance that is extremely
funny, but unnerving all the same.

A.I. is rated PG-13 for sexual content and violent images.

RATING A minus © 2001. Jim Chastain II