A.I.: Artificial Intelligence Review
by Laura Clifford (lcliffor AT genuity DOT net)July 7th, 2001
A.I.
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For over twenty years, the late Stanley Kubrick worked on developing "A.I." Initally based on the short story "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" about a child robot yearning for the love of his human mother, Kubrick extended the tale as a sci-fi retelling of 'Pinocchio.' Having once been told by Kubrick that the project was better suited to his sensibilities, Steven Spielberg took over the reins after Kubrick's death. Haley Joel Osment stars as the boy robot who wants to be real in "A.I."
Anticipation for "A.I." began with a web campaign built around a murder mystery beginning with fictious researcher Jeanine Salla. The film, which doesn't touch on these elements, begins with Professor Hobby (William Hurt) explaining the next robotic advancement - a child substitute that can be programmed to 'love' human parents in a society where natural birth is largely restricted. His prototype, David (Haley Joel Osment), is brought home to Monica Swinton (Frances O'Connor, "Mansfield Park") by her husband Henry (Sam Robards, "American Beauty"), hoping to snap her out of the despair she's been in since their natural child, Martin (Jake Thomas, "The Cell") fell into a coma.
Monica's resistent at first, but her need for a child's love soon has her making the irreversible 'imprint' that will bind David to her (after imprinting, these 'mechas' must stay with their owner or be returned to Cybertronics for destruction). David's given Martin's supertoy Teddy (his Jiminy Cricket) and all is well until Martin makes a surprise reversal and is brought home. Martin's competitiveness combined with misunderstandings result in Monica abandoning David (with Teddy), who begins his search for the Blue Fairy which will make him a real boy, regaining his mother's love.
His journey has him cross paths with other, zombie-like, abandoned robots trying to keep clear of the Flesh Fair, where cheering fans watch their like be tortured and destroyed. David's picked up and meets Gigolo Joe (Jude Law, "Enemy at the Gate" - this film's version of Honest John). They escape and travel to Rouge City (evoking both Pinocchio's Pleasure Island and "The Wizard of Oz") where Dr. Know gives advise that lead theme to a submerged Manhattan and David's dreams.
"A.I." is a hybrid that suffers from not being fully Kubrick or Spielberg. The film plays in three parts. The first hour establishes David and his life with the Swinton's and plays very much like Kubrick, slowly paced and quiet, with a slightly ominous score. Reflections are significant, making us question what makes us human when we see David's reflection on the glass over a Swinton family portrait. Futuristic cars travelling through forests recall "A Clockwork Orange." This part of the film is wholly satisfying.
Spielberg begins to peak through in the second segment. While Gigilo Joe and his backstory are Kubrickian (by way of "Blade Runner"), the Flesh Fair's flying mercenaries (Brendan Gleeson, wasted) and their spotlights begin the parade of "Close Encounters" visuals (a film where Spielberg featured Pinochhio's theme of 'When You Wish Upon a Star'). The Flesh Fair itself is a half-baked concept, a colliseum for the destruction of broken, fleshless mechas which has more in common with a monster truck rally. A political subtext is hinted at by Gleeson's character, but not enough to make the sequence work.
Rouge City provides visuals which seem inspired by everything from "Metropolis" to "Roger Rabbit." Spielberg links religion to fairy tale when David mistakes a neon Lady of the Immaculate Heart for his blue fairy.
When the duo arrive in Manhattan, Gigolo Joe departs and the film's final third begins. It's here where Spielberg loses his grip with apparent indecision. Not content to leave his film at a natural ending point, Spielberg unsuccessfully plays with multiple concepts involving alien-like evolved mechas, memory and resurrection.
"A.I." represents Spielberg's second screenwriting credit after "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." While his faithfulness to the Italian fairy tale mostly serves him well, clearly he had difficulty resolving the tale. In fact, in this film which recalls so many others, a bit of "Child's Play" would have had Teddy kill off Martin, making for a more economical route to a Spielbergian happy ending. Several nonsensical pieces of plotting had me scratching my head as well - why did Monica drive David out towards Cybertronics, then tell him not to go there? Why did Professor Hobby tell David he'd meet his makers, only to vanish from the story?
Haley Joel Osment once again turns in a performance which belies his years, although a tentativeness keeps him from hitting this one out of the ball park. O'Connor does well portraying Monica's confusion and wrings real emotion in the abandonment scene, but Spielberg betrays her in the film's finale. Jude Law gives a witty reading of sexbot Joe, but the character never feels fully intrigrated into the story.
"A.I." is certainly more thought provoking than any summer blockbuster we've been presented with yet this season, but it leaves us wishing Spielberg had applied more of Kubrick's obssessive fine tuning.
B-
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