A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
SYNOPSIS:
Earth’s natural resources are depleted – but human
resourcefulness is in full flight, engineering ways of coping
with everyday life with the help of robots. Couples need permits
to procreate but the one thing robots don’t yet have are
emotions. Love and affection are the last frontiers of AI . . .
until Professor Hobby (William Hurt) and his team at Tufts
University develop David (Haley Joel Osment) a prototype of a boy
robot who can be programmed to bond with his parents, love his
mother and love her forever. A Cybertronics employee Henry
Swinton (Sam Robards) and his wife Monica (Frances O’Connor)
are given the unique opportunity to foster David while grieving
over their own son. David soon learns – through a wild
adventure in the company of robotic Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) - that
humans and robots are on different sides, and he’d prefer
staying with his mum. If he can survive...
Given the collective intelligence of the filmmakers – from
the late Kubrick to the present Spielberg and all the team –
it is ironic that A.I. fails to generate the level of emotions
their robotic boy is supposed to display. It’s not so much
about Artificial Intelligence as Artificial Emotions. We are
hardly ever engaged emotionally, and dramatic power comes purely
from the action sequences; the only things the characters drive
are futuristic cars. Not only does the script suffer from verylongitis, schmalz and
sentimentality, it lacks the inventiveness and sharpness that the
subject matters demands. For example, David acquires a wise old
Teddy, a supertoy from some previous generation, which exhibits
all the hallmarks of wisdom and foresight as well as emotion that
David is supposed to pioneer. This kind of carelessness –
and predictability – don’t belong in a film that
aspires to tell a story of great relevance and magnitude. It
destroys credibility, of course, but also lessens our respect for
the whole enterprise. Yet there are redeeming aspects, including
Frances O’Connor as the mum, who stays natural (in both
looks and character) and William Hurt in a couple of short but
effective scenes. Osment is as good as ever, a young actor whose
screen charisma remains undiminished since The Sixth Sense. As
you would expect from a sci-fi fairy tale, there are some
remarkable scenes created in the VFX lab, including a seamless
transformation of a human face into a robot which is opened up
for examination. But these thrills are small compensation for the
overall disappointment the film generates. Do go and see it,
though, because if you can lower your expectations, you will find
parts of it interesting, if nothing more.
Andrew L. Urban
Steven Spielberg's story telling talents are at the forefront of
A.I., a bewitching, thought provoking film that, while arguably
flawed, is nonetheless a spectacular entertainment. The mood is
beautifully created with effective use of light, selection of
shots and focused direction of a superb cast. Spielberg's choices
always favour the interesting, rather than the predictable, and
the background and resulting subtext of the late Stanley
Kubrick's interest in the project, delivers a gritty and complex
edge. There are some wonderful ideas, and while the basic concept
of Artificial Intelligence may not be brand spanking new, much of
the film is unique and individual. Andrew (above) must have
switched off his emotional barometer during the course of the
film; I found many scenes extraordinarily moving. One such scene
is when (beautifully backlit) Monica instigates the non-reversible
process of bonding between child and mother. The execution is
simple, the result an amalgam of emotions waiting to be released.
I found it easy to open up to the concept and take the trip. The
main drawback for me is Spielberg's intermittent self indulgence
(145 minutes is very long) and a script that struggles to find
its resolution. But the characters are wonderfully crafted and
when we enter the world of the Mechas and Rouge City, it is one
as distinctive and individual as that of Dark City, Who Killed
Roger Rabbit or indeed the magical world of Oz. The fantasy world
is meticulously created; I can still see Gigolo Joe, whose simple
shake of the head starts the music, creates the mood and changes
his hair colour. Haley Joel Osment is magnificent as David,
fulfilling all the wonder of a wide-eyed child with the
detachment of an outcast. It's a terrific role for Frances
O'Connor, perfect as Monica - a role that will surely catapult
her into absolute stardom and I love Jude Law's ultimate man ('Once
you've had a love robot, you'll never want a real man'); his Joe
is a Ken doll with attitude. A.I. is a great yarn, a fantasy-filled
sci-fi adventure with a heart. And when you leave the cinema, you
will no doubt be humming John Williams' haunting melodies –
those gentle, rich and emotion-building notes that are the
antithesis of artificial.
Louise Keller
 
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CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 1
Unfavourable: 1
Mixed: 0
 Read Andrew L. Urban's
interview with HALEY JOEL OSMENT
Read Jenny Cooney Carrillo's interview with STEVEN SPIELBERG
Read Jeff Goldsmith's interview with BRIAN ALDISS
 See the TRAILER
A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (M)
(US)
CAST: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan
Gleeson, Sam Robards and William Hurt, plus the voices of Robin
Williams & Ben Kingsley, Meryl Streep, Chris Rock (and
Anthony Hopkins uncredited)
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
PRODUCER: Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
SCRIPT: Steven Spielberg (Ian Watson screen story, Brian
Aldiss short story, Supertoys Last All Summer Long)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Janusz Kaminski
EDITOR: Michael Kahn
MUSIC: John Williams
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Rick Carter
ROBOT CHARACTER DESIGN: Stan Winston
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS & ANIMATION: ILM
RUNNING TIME: 145 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: September 13, 2001
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