Movie Rental Review: Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Suddenly, this movie came on, out of nowhere. I had not seen this movie in quite some time, but I have enjoyed it immensely each time I have seen it. This time was no different, of course.

There are so many things that you can say about this movie. It takes on so many issues, poses so many questions, morally and otherwise. It is a weird movie, to be sure. But it sure makes you think.

It is set in the future, when humanity has seen itself advance enough technologically speaking to have very human-like robots walking the streets, and serving people in various capacities. So convincing are these lifelike robots, that to the naked eye, it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between a real life human being, and a robot.

At times, the very lack of real humanity of these robots can be a source of humor. At other times, it comes across in a far more frightening manner. There is something simply creepy about them, because their seeming appearance of normality, of humanity, at most times makes their final lack of real humanity that much more appalling.

There is a couple that seems to have lost their little boy, who is in a coma. There seems to be little to no chance of recovery. It is tearing them apart, and they are unhappy, feeling unfulfilled in their lives. The loss of their little boy has left a vacuum in their lives.

But they are offered a child robot, David (played brilliantly by Haley Joel Osment), as a kind of surrogate, a replacement. True, David is just a robot, made to resemble a 9 year old little boy. This robot is given very human qualities, so that he appears to have all the vulnerabilities of a typical 9 year old little boy. He will never grow up, it is true, but he will help the couple overcome their loss.

They try it out, and it seems odd at first. There are moments when the little boy/robot seems downright creepy. But eventually, they grow attached, and adopt the little boy (I will call him a little boy from here on out), overcoming whatever reservations they once held.

Of course, there are complications. In this case, it seems to be good news, when the couple's actual child suddenly wakes up out of his coma. But it leaves the little boy in a bad state. That might seem a bit odd, given that it is a robot, after all. But he has been programmed with very human emotional responses, and these complications confuse him. He responds like a little boy might, feeling rejected, and only wanting the acceptance of his mother.

The situation grows more and more intolerable and, eventually, the couple have to let the little boy go. The mother takes him to the woods, and essentially leaves him there. David is crying, and we can easily forget that it is, in fact, a robot.

David has to survive in an unfriendly world, one that is particularly unfriendly towards robots, like himself. Yet, it is his very humanness that seems to save him. People are just like the couple, they have a soft spot in their heart for what appears to be a little boy.

Despite it all, the David understands really only one thing: he wants to feel loved and accepted by his mother. He longs to see her again. He wants to be a part of the family that left him behind. To that end, he is human in a very real sense. His behavior, his longings, everything. He has transcended being a robot, which he still is literally, and has assumed very human qualities - perhaps too human.

Clearly, David longs to be a real little boy, and wants the love of a mother, just like any such real boy would. He believes in a fairy tale (again, much like any real child that age might), the Blue Fairy, and believes that this can turn him into a real boy. To that end, he finds himself going all the way to Manhattan, which is underwater (kind of ironic, given the latest news from the super storm, isn't it?). By chance, he finds himself stuck underwater, staring at what he believes is the Blue Fairy. We see him praying to it, wanting to become a real little boy.

Unbeknownst to him, 2000 years pass, and an alien culture has come and discovered him. Now, he has become a novelty, because it is his very humanness that interests them. They want to understand his behavior, because he is very lifelike, and will give them a better appreciation of what a "real" human being is like, even though he is, in fact, not a real human, but still very much a robot.

If all of this sounds strange (and I realize upon writing this that it just might), then try to suspend whatever disbelief or out and out skepticism you may have, and focus in on the story. This is an excellent movie, and not one that should be approached lightly. It is a serious movie with some serious points, and asks serious questions.

The questions posed are moral ones. We do not actually have the means to make robots quite so life-like...yet, although we do seem to be getting closer. But that aside, we can accept the premise of the movie that this is set some time in the future, when we have found such capabilities. Then, we can ask ourselves some of the fundamental questions that the movies raise. In essence, these robots are our servants, our slaves. That might not be the kindest word for it, but the way that they are portrayed is strictly to serve human beings, one way or the other. We make them and discard them with equal ease, much like we make and discard all of our consumer goods in the present day. We know the damage and hollowness that such a consumer society does. But when and where do we draw a line? Also, can we literally build artificial things to replace some of those terrible losses in our lives? The couple on this movie seems to have lost their child in the beginning, and they look to fill that vacuum with an immediate need, without giving too much thought to it. Later on, this itself creates new problems when their real little boy comes back.

What about the human qualities of the robot, David? Again, assuming that we could have such technology in the future, the questions arise. Is that a good thing? Would such robots, which seem very human and provide services to human beings (including sexual services), yet which do not feel the need to possess, do not consume food or require much resources at all, presumably; would these be a good idea? Is this a good thing, or is it yet another case of humanity creating something out of an immediate need one day, only to find the next day that this temporary solution has proven to be an even bigger problem?

Also, there is a scene in this movie where people go to an event that is mixed in the style of NASCAR racing and ultimate fighting leagues, only perhaps even more sinister, much like the Romans used to go to the Coliseum to watch gladiators fight and die. Here, the robots of society's own creation are torn apart for the pleasure of the assembled crowd. We might want to believe ourselves, collectively or, failing that, individually, to be above that. But the question remains whether we are or not. After all, we have a starting star quarterback in the NFL who used to be involved with dog fighting, and such things still very much exist in the present. There is no reason to believe that such a "sport" couldn't happen in real life if such a scenario like these robots became a reality.

Ultimately, this is a very thought-provoking movie that produces more questions than answers. It is not a feel good movie, but it is a very good movie, and one that, if you like thinking about such things (and, frankly, even if you don't), you should try to watch.