Technology has opened up possibilities when it comes to dating: now we can meet people all the way on the other side of the world, or within seconds after swiping right on one of those dating apps. Yet, things still aren’t easy when it comes to love and relationships. The falling in love part is great stuff – the air smells sweet, you glimpse butterflies fluttering in every direction. What comes after is the difficult work. Sometimes, you can do everything right, and the relationship still breaks.
This is where the premise of I’m Your Man comes in. It involves a company able to build you a humanoid of your dreams, tailored to adapt to your needs and desires – the absolute epitome of artificial intelligence. Alma (Maren Eggert) is selected to test one of these A.Is, a decision she highly objects to. But her boss is insistent, and so she reluctantly agrees after he makes her some career promises.
Enter Tom, a gorgeous humanoid, played wonderfully by Dan Stevens, who reminded me a tad of Jude Law’s role in Steven Spielberg’s A.I, only Tom is made for the purpose of companionship instead. Stevens is amazing as an A.I, completely believable in the role. I was initially confused to discover he was in I’m Your Man since it’s a German film, but he studied German at college, and speaks the language fluently. Is there anything the man can’t do?
It is hilarious stuff watching Tom and Alma interact. She clearly finds it off-putting that he’s not human, but is also obviously attracted to him. Director Maria Schrader (who also co-wrote the script) makes it apparent that Alma is lonely – we see it in her home space, which exists as a transient space for her to rest between reporting to work. There are consistent shades of blue that inundates the spaces and clothing in the film, which sets a melancholic tone and kind of sets the path that Alma will eventually take.
One of the factors Alma struggles with is Tom’s agency, and whether he possesses any. If this A.I is programmed according to Alma’s needs, can he ever say no to her, or fight with her? Alma wants to see how far she can push it, and while at times it does seem like he is his own person, his own man, we can’t help but notice that he may share Alma’s life, yet he has no dream or purpose of his own. Even his body is not constructed for him to feel or experience the world the way we do. All he exists for is to make her feel loved and wanted. However, wouldn’t that mean a satiating relationship, to be with someone who can read you so well, and who would never leave you?
As Alma grows closer to Tom, these are the questions she ponders, and the film wants you to think about it too. After all, as technology continues to evolve, this possibility might only be a few years away from becoming something real. Isn’t it better to have companionship, than to lead a lonely, desperate life yearning for some scrap of love? It is very much the same ideas explored in the movie Her with Joaquin Phoenix, where the main character falls in love with his A.I digital assistant. The main difference between the two is that I’m Your Man is a little more on the nose with its messaging, more or less spelling things out for the viewer at the end of the film.
Still, it is a beautiful film that really reminds us of the sheer miracle of falling and staying in love. So hold on to the people you love for however long you can.
Review screener provided.
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