Artificial

LFF Film #11

I love Luca Guadagnino. Out of all of the massive modern working-day directors, he is somebody that intrigues me the most. Constantly innovating on his style and cinematic language. No two of his films ever really feel the same. However, they all have a signature stamp to them, this ineffable quality, this ability to drill into humans in ways others fail to.

I also have a degree in computer science and physics. I have felt the repercussions of AI infiltrating workplaces firsthand multiple times now. I have a vested interest in OpenAI and this Pandora's box that is artificial intelligence. So this film was kind of made in a lab for me.

Given my extensive knowledge of both the technology and the story behind it though, it also meant I was poised to be more critical of this film. My knowledge a weapon against the inaccuracies or representation of how this technology was conceived.

How silly I was. Like all great stories, the film has nothing to do with the technology, but rather the people behind it. The repercussions that we are all feeling, the result of this technological development are all more resonant because of how deeper we understand these people.

Many people have said it, but this feels like the spiritual successor to The Social Network. Its interest in the people behind the technology rather than the technology itself is its greatest strength. Much like with The Social Network, where you have Mark and Eduardo, here you have Sam and Ilya, who are portrayed as a dichotomy of sorts... well it descends into this.

The level of depth that is afforded to each of them is so rewarding because over the course of the film you understand what makes them tick. You understand the wide-eyed optimism of Ilya who truly believes in the technology versus the slimy con-man of Sam who is inexplicably charming on the surface, but that is harbouring something nasty underneath.

The film is like this slow descent into horror. You start out with the optimism of this technology, of Ilya's idealised version of the world, of how beneficial AI can be, and how that slowly gets taken away from him by Sam Altman and corrupted into where we are right now. It's interesting for a movie like this to present a level of optimism sprinkled throughout almost as if Guadagnino wants to further highlight the corruption happening by the men who hold the power. By the time we reach the end, it truly feels like humanity has been led down a horrible path, something that desperately needs to be sorted.

Andrew Garfield, whose performance as Sam Altman is perhaps his best performance to date, helps convey this sheer horror so effortlessly and doing so with a smile. He's so slimy and vicious, but is doing so under the guise of friendliness. It’s interesting to see the movie as well weaponise his sexuality, and actually gets some internal reflections on how he perceives himself being a gay man in these spaces. An unexpected highlight of the film - and yet another instance of trying to understand the humanity behind these characters, despite their horrible exteriors.

I totally get why this isn't working for everybody; the film is purposefully actually quite hard to sink your teeth into. It's funny, and it's also scary. You're questioning should we be entertained, but it's also a complete horror story, and we're living through that right now. There are janky edits and weird bits of filmmaking thrown in. It all sort of accumulates to this feeling of artifice that I think is what Luca is trying to go for.

Given it feels so artificial, it perhaps lacks the directorial flares that we normally get from him, but I also wonder if that is intentional to make this film feel so sterile and cold and hollow as it goes on. I’m desperate to go and unpack this movie more, but from where I’m standing right now, this is one of the best of the year.