PARK CITY – A somewhat cool robot does not make a movie. “Mother,” as she is called in Grant Sputore’s “I Am Mother,” is a droid that has been tasked with raising a new generation of humanity. You see the human population has been wiped out and the 63,000 embryos in this secret bunker are the only way they’ll walk the earth again. This sounds sort of familiar doesn’t it? If that’s the case get ready for a lot of “Where have I seen this before?” popping up in your head with this Sci-Fi drama.
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Debuting at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, “I Am Mother” chronicles Mother (voice of Rose Byrne) raising Daughter from baby to child (Tahlia Sturzaker) and, finally to almost an adult (Clara Rugaard, very good). Daughter has been told that man’s greed and selfishness caused them to perish (or something like that) and Mother’s job is to make sure she not only grows up safe but to learn the best ways of the former world. Importantly, Mother insists whatever catastrophe occurred outside has made the surface too dangerous to explore which keeps Daughter stuck in the complex for her entire life. And that means hours on end of watching archived episodes of “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” to see how humans interacted with each other and lots of classes under Mother’s watchful camera lens. When Daughter discovers a mouse sneaking around a storage room it prompts her to question if there really is nothing alive in the outside world. And then things get slightly more interesting.
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An unnamed character (referred to as Woman by the production) pounds on the bunker door saying she’s been shot. Daughter is conflicted. Does she let her in and break Mother’s confidence in never opening the door? Or does she let her die? Desperate to have contact with another living being, she embarks on the former. Woman (Hilary Swank, shaking things up wonderfully) is shocked to see her, but not for the reasons you first suspect (though you may suspect it 10 or so minutes later). Dirty and wounded, Woman says she’s been separated from her scouting party. They had ventured out from nearby mines where a large group of people are hiding out from the droids that turned on them years ago. Daughter is stunned, obviously. How can this be? She’s been raised by a droid that only seemed to care and love her since she was a baby. When Woman sees Mother she freaks and tries to destroy her only to have Mother stop her and insist they tend to her wounds. It goes without saying that Woman doesn’t trust Mother even as the droid insists the only directive in her programming has been to protect the human race. It creates a predictable conflict where Daughter begins to question the machine who raised her as well as Woman, who’s sketchy story seems to change ever so slightly as her time in the bunker drags on.
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Michael Lloyd Green‘s script made the prestigious Black List in 2016, but you have to wonder why. The eventual twists aren’t that surprising and don’t really make sense in the context of even the film’s most basic world building (don’t worry, we won’t spoil anything here). And once the viewer sees what’s outside the bunker it’s a huge disappointment. Is this world down the block from “Terminator Salvation”? Are the characters from “The Maze Runner” or “Divergent” movies on the other side of the hill? Talk about a creative let down. Even taking into consideration the film’s limited budget, Hugh Bateup production design overall is a stellar disappointment. The design of the bunker itself is basic SyFy spaceship interiors from the ’90s on (a high school theater design student could come up with something better on the same budget). Considering how much of the film’s storyline takes place on these sets you have to wonder why Sputore didn’t demand more. The only inspired aspect of the film is Mother herself and even that is somewhat debatable.
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Developed by Weta Workshop, Mother the robot is impressive once you realize how much it moves and interacts with the characters in extended shots. There are scenes with a CG Mother (mostly running sequences), but for the most part, it’s a practical effect. Weta and Sputore’s collaboration earn praise because you quickly suspend your disbelief whether a machine such as this could raise a newborn child. There is one scene where Mother finds the right music to make a baby Daughter fall asleep that demonstrates this perfectly. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make a movie and it becomes increasingly hard to believe Mother is that dangerous or can’t be stopped in case anything goes wrong (spoiler: Mother ain’t that tall).
In many ways, “I Am Mother” is a sort of a proof of concept for everyone involved. Sputore gets to demonstrate his skills in helming what is a pretty slick looking production without studio financing, Rugaard is a captivating talent that should get a lot more attention in Hollywood and Swank once again reminds everyone why she’s a two-time Oscar winner. Swank is so compelling the moment she shows up onscreen you begin to think the movie might begin to surprise you until it doesn’t. And if “I Am Mother” signals Swank is ready to embrace a sci-fi action film or television series portion of her career? Then we’re all for it. [C+]
Check out all our coverage from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival here.