A remote lakehouse getaway gone wrong.
If you've only seen the first trailer of “Companion” a few months ago and not the second one that was released about a week ago, as well as reading the description of the movie, be forewarned that this review assumes you know the first major twist shown early on publicly in the latter.
I did see the description and second trailer prior to seeing the movie, and it didn't take away my viewing experience, as there are multiple, unpredictable twists, but your mileage may vary. Because this particular reveal is integral to the story, it's not possible to write a review without it. Turn back now or forever hold your peace...
“Companion” begins with a supermarket meet-cute. Girl (Sophie Thatcher, “Heretic”) meets boy (Jack Quaid) in a supermarket aisle. Iris and Josh fall in love at first sight, and next thing we know, they're in a relationship and driving to a remote lakehouse for a getaway, at the invite of Josh's friend, Kat (Megan Sun).
The luxury lakehouse belongs to Kat's wealthy boyfriend, Sergey (Rupert Friend). Joining the quartet are their mutual friend, Eli (Harvey Guillen) and his longtime boyfriend, Patrick (Lukas Gage). Kat knows where she stands, as a mistress to a magnate who may not be on the up and up.
Iris has met Kat prior to the trip and could sense that Kat doesn't really like her, although she couldn't put her finger on it. Sergey also makes a few off comments, which adds to Iris' uneasiness, but she keeps her smile on to keep Josh happy. Kat admits that she's a bit insecure around the porcelain-pretty Iris, even though Iris thinks of Kat highly.
After a violent confrontation between Sergey and Iris, a blood-soaked Iris freaks out Josh, Kat, Eli and Patrick, and they have to decide what to do next. This is when Iris realizes that something is terribly wrong. Iris startlingly finds out that she is a robot, a humanoid owned by Josh to be his companion, functioning like a human girlfriend.
Once a love link is established, Iris is programmed to be devoted to Josh's every need, want and desire. Her memories about her life have been implanted. Bewildered, Iris doesn't believe Josh at first, until Josh shows how he can control Iris through an app on his phone. Her eye color, voice, language, intelligence and aggression level.
Thatcher brings humanity home here, displaying Iris' palpable and deep emotions that look and feel real. Hurt, pain, anger, sadness, crushed. Quaid shifts seamlessly from a dorky guy-next-door to misogynistic manipulator, who will cold-bloodedly stop at nothing and no one to keep his destructive secrets.
Knowing that Iris has consciousness, you think you might be able to predict what happens next, as Iris tries to gain control to outmaneuver Josh's power over her. You' d be wrong. The surprises and shocks keep coming; from why they are really at the lakehouse to the discombobulated dynamics among the friends, which lead to a bloody spiral out of control.
Now that we live in the age of artificial intelligence, it doesn't seem to be a distant science fiction to ponder what if androids gain self-awareness and existential identity, and evolve to the point that they independently gain a mind of their own and feel real emotions like human beings.
Topsy-turvy chain of events unfold with an unhinged edge and dark comedic tone, which make the movie enjoyable to watch, despite the macabre nature. The twists are well-constructed and unexpected.
Think about mystery thrillers that shocked you. “Oldboy,” “The Gift,” “Ex-Machina,” “Don't Worry Darling," and last year's “Blink Twice” and “Strange Darling." Prepare to go on a wickedly wild ride with “Companion.”
