A.I. Artificial Intelligence

The world of A.I. is one where the polar ice caps melted, flooding coastal cities and killing people. Consequently, robots became prevalent, taking on roles in society. Robots existed as toys (Teddy rocks!), prostitutes, and maids. Allen Hobby wants to create something more. He wants to create a robot-child with the capacity for love. David is this child. Hobby gives David to Henry and Monica Swinton, still grieving over the potential loss of their son Martin, who is cryogenically frozen. Monica initially believes that Henry wanted to replace their son, but grows to love David. Miraculously, Martin comes back, and is jealous of David. He goads him to misbehave, and David, not knowing better, listens. Monica slowly comes to the realization that David cannot stay, and tells him to run away. David does not understand, and thinks that if he can turn into a real boy, Monica will love him and want him again. David goes on a quest for the Blue Fairy, the same one from the Pinocchio story. This leads him to Gigolo Joe, one of the many pleasure robots who inhabit this world. They also go to a Flesh Fair, a carnival-like arena where humans destroy robots for fun.

On the surface, it looks like there is a lot of love in the movie, but the only character with true love is David. He is programmed to feel nothing but love for his mother. And, as Henry points out, does one programmed with the ability to love also have the ability to hate? Osment gives a strong performance. He does not blink, which helps establish an artificial nature to his character. His actions and mannerism of unconditional love Monica's feelings are hard to gauge. Her feelings for David seem closer to compassion than love. Their apartment lacks warmth. It is sparse and functional, but does not look like a family lives there. The only feelings present in the film are alienation and hatred, with the Flesh Fair a good example of the latter. It is full of horrifying imagery, and is noticeably darker and dirtier than the rest of the movie. The special effects in A.I. are not things nobody has even seen before, but they are very good. Speilberg uses them not to overwhelm the audience, but to enhance the story. David's quest is also one of acceptance. One of the many subtexts of A.I. is the struggle between humans and mecha. The mecha want rights, but the orga are afraid that mecha may take over. Speilberg cleverly weaves these deeper stories subtly into the simpler one of David looking for the blue fairy. Universal themes like love, loss, obsolescence, and free will all appear to some degree. What Speilberg does is touch on all these issues, while focusing on David and his quest. It is deceivingly simple, and sure to leave some people confused, but for those willing to sit back and think about what Speilberg is saying, A.I. is a worthy experience.