"Companion", 2025

Life in Pink: a review of ‘The Companion’ with ‘Hornet’ star Sophie Thatcher

A techno-barbie fights for independence.

Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is a sex android that looks and acts like a human, but in reality exists solely for the comfortable leisure of an owner named Josh (Jack Quaid). Iris's agenda is simple: to be the ‘perfect girl’ with no desires or opinions of her own. For a long time this order of things seems to the heroine the only true, but everything changes when one day the couple goes for a weekend to a country house, where they meet Josh's friends. Barely crossing the threshold, Iris realises that she feels like a stranger. Those around her don't treat her as an equal, more like an exotic accessory. The situation escalates when one of the guests dies and Iris finally learns that she is not a human being, but an object whose actions can be controlled and its programme can be switched off, rebooted or re-programmed. However, it soon becomes clear that even the most sophisticated algorithms can get out of control under certain circumstances.

‘Companion’ is the feature debut of Drew Hancock, which balances at the intersection of science fiction, horror, comedy and even detective. Despite the fact that outwardly Iris does not differ from a human (which informs about the extremely high level of technological progress), the world around the characters can hardly be called the world of the future. Phones with folding screens have long been released by Samsung, and not only Tesla already has autopilot. Probably, the action takes place in an alternative reality, or Hancock decided to concentrate on the story of relationships (with himself and others), rather than on the elaboration of the fictional world. The result is something between Greg Jardine's comedic horror ‘What's Inside’ and Franklin Ritch's outstanding melancholy dive into android psychology ‘Who Is She?’.

Once Iris realises that much of her life has been fictionalised and her body and mind subjected to an app on her phone, she begins to reflect on her own subjectivity and quickly realises that she wants to break free from human control. The heroine Sophie Thatcher is a perfect girl with a set of individually tailored costumes (they are literally brought along with Iris's physical shell to Josh's house), practically a living Barbie. She is designed to delight and please. To be a friend, lover and companion who always knows when it's time to shut up and go to bed. But as we know from Greta Gerwig's testament, even Barbie sooner or later realises that she doesn't want to be perfect - she just wants to live her life.

The film is built not only around Iris and her self-discovery, but also including her relationship with the man who owns her. Josh, played by Jack Quaid (son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid), is a classic representative of the ‘nice guy’ who in reality turns out to be not so nice at all. He doesn't yell or behave aggressively (at least at first), Josh's control manifests itself in other ways: in his constant downgrading of her importance, in his gentle but unquestioning dominance, in his belief that he has the right to rule. Even when the situation gets out of control, Josh is not ready to recognise Iris' right to autonomy, preferring simply to “switch off” her mind, to reduce her intelligence level from 100 to 0. This moment becomes the key metaphor of the film: the woman he loves can be intelligent, but only as long as she does not claim a place at the head of the table.

The problem with the film is that everything in it is too obvious. ‘Companion’ does not offer any original disclosure of the stated theme of confrontation between man and robot and/or man and woman, the plot twists are predictable, the characters follow clear, long-established archetypes, and other themes that could have been revealed in a deeper way are presented in a simplified form. ‘Companion’ only at first glance appears to be a film that wants to say something important about relationships, freedom and self-determination. For all its social orientation, it remains more of a genre entertainment than a poignant statement. What we have before us is a light, fast-paced, visually appealing thriller that tells a long familiar story, combining easily guessable references to Alex Garland's Out of the Machine and Spike Jonze's Her. There is little to be surprised about, but you can take another ride on this one if you wish.