Companion: Sophie Thatcher brings 'wonderful delicacy' to robotic girlfriend
Slick sci-fi thriller is 'clever, funny and exquisitely cast'

"Like Alex Garland's 'Ex Machina' and Jonathan Glazer's 'Under the Skin', 'Companion' uses a juicy science-fiction premise – in this case, if we could hire robotic lovers, how might we treat them? – as the pretext for a dark parable about male manipulation and coercion of women," said Robbie Collin in The Daily Telegraph.
Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is a "pretty, softly spoken" robot who has been programmed to provide companionship for her "midwit" boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid). Together, they head off to spend a weekend with friends at a remote lake house owned by a Russian tycoon (Rupert Friend), where Iris goes violently rogue. There is a "wonderful delicacy to Thatcher's performance, as the actress expertly toggles between uncanny and natural from moment to moment", and the film is a treat – "an unabashed whoop-out-loud romp: one of those films in which horrible things happen constantly to horrible people, as the moral arc of the universe bends itself around to kick the backsides of everyone involved".
"Clever, funny and exquisitely cast", this is a "slick modern thriller" that takes the viewer in "totally unexpected" directions, said Matthew Bond in The Mail on Sunday. The violence ratchets up as the "grippingly paced story unfolds", but the film "also has insightful things to say about what it is to be human, our interaction with technology, and the nature of evil".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Companion is certainly "clever", said Tom Shone in The Sunday Times, and you probably won't be bored, "but clever is all it is: you will wish it had dared to play with real emotions, rather than just the preset sort. Even Ridley Scott's replicants seemed to dream of a life beyond their programming."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Coldplay kiss cam affair: a cautionary tale
In the Spotlight The pair became 'the most googled people on the planet' after getting caught having an affair at a Coldplay concert
-
Connie Francis: superstar of the early 1960s pop scene
In the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
Friendship: 'bromance' comedy starring Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson
The Week Recommends 'Lampooning and embracing' middle-aged male loneliness, this film is 'enjoyable and funny'
-
6 head-turning homes for town house living
Feature Featuring a roof deck with city views in South Carolina and a renovated Harlem brownstone in New York City
-
Bookish: delightful period detective drama from Mark Gatiss
The Week Recommends 'Cosy crime' series is a 'standout pleasure' in an Agatha Christie-style formula
-
Music Reviews: Justin Bieber, Wet Leg, and Clipse
Feature "Swag," "Moisturizer," and "Let God Sort Em Out"
-
Film reviews: Eddington and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Feature A New Mexico border town goes berserk and civil war through a child's eyes
-
Art Review: Hilma af Klint's What Stands Behind the Flowers
Feature Museum of Modern Art, New York City, through Sept. 27