Based
on a short story by Brian Aldiss called "Super-Toys Last All
Summer Long," this science fiction movie stars Haley Joel Osment
whose true
talent for acting and endearing face make him a perfect candidate for
playing
a boy robot.
In fact, his portrayal is so
well done it's scary. The one who plays his
mother, Frances O'Connor, we come to sympathize with when she realizes
exactly what she's getting into when he is introduced inside her home.
At
first it seems like an episode out of "The Outer Limits"---a
robot with
feelings turns someone's life upside-down, and the consequences are fairly
predictable. This is about how it goes when David (Haley Joel Osment)
becomes
familiar with his new environment and gets acquainted with those around
him.
One of the few things that
sticks out in my mind is when the other kids start
picking on him and he falls into a swimming pool with his brother. Martin
is
saved from drowning while David is left at the bottom of the pool, which
seems rather cold-blooded if you get the feeling he really can't swim.
Instead the scene serves as a strong reminder that he is pure machine
who
will naturally sink than stay afloat. And, ironically, scientists must
dig
out the iron in his diet after he impulsively eats up tons of spinach.
Already it's become tongue-in-cheek.
Add a robot gigolo to this story and it reaches an even higher level
of weirdness. Jude Law with his smooth schtick and mechanical elegance
is
ideal for this role, so much so that once in a while he steals attention
away
from Haley Joel Osment. Just to see him momentarily dance in a pond of
water
is oddness in itself. His quirkiness is not only fascinating, it's an
art.
However, I think the biggest blunder is when David's mother tries
abandoning him and he is then swept into a nightmarish world where others
of
his kind are mutilated and transported to a Flesh Fair. They try to meld
the
latest science fiction special effects with "Night Of The Living
Dead"
creepiness and that's exactly what you are being served: something dynamic
to
look at while the plot tends to disintegrate to the level of a B movie.
What's more, Dr. Know who is
supposed to be an encyclopedia of knowledge is
nothing more than a goofy looking, cartoonish figure with a mop of white
hair
and furry long moustache. If this wasn't of Steven Speilberg's making
you
would've probably thought Disney might have had something to do with it.
What really saves this movie is the voyage David goes on to
discover himself. We see him grow as a person, getting in touch with his
true
feelings so that he does become real. We see a genuine person behind his
visage even though we're still reminded he is just a robot. And although
his
mother can't quite adapt to it, the conflict between them does add a
realistic dimension. When she tries to abandon him it is two-sided--his
love
for her seems almost pathological, as if she's getting rid of something
that's been truly plaguing her, yet he's like a little puppy who you hate
having to put to sleep. Most of all it's the emotional climax that makes
it
so moving, and it's likely one of the best scenes out of the whole movie
as
well. Frances O'Connor is placed in a very difficult role yet she is able
to
do it believably as if she really were a mother in true life.
The visual effects are at their height when David goes on a journey
across the oceans to where lions weep. The pseudo city and fantasy setting
tend to even remind you of the ending of "Dark City." It's captivating
to
see. And yet the second biggest flaw of all comes when you keep getting
beaten over the head with story about Pinocchio. David wants to become
a real
boy and is determined to find The Blue Fairy who can grant him his wish.
And
when you come to think about it, Professor Hobby, played by the ever so
handsome William Hurt, is like Geppeto.
After all of David's adventures,
especially when he goes under the water, I was honestly hoping for a magical
ending. Not so. He goes through the oceanic ruins of Coney Island, finally
comes face-to-face with The Blue Fairy... and for exactly two thousand
years not a single thing happens. He sits there in his space age bubble
until another species of life discovers him literally frozen over in the
new ice age. So they reanimate him. Although he does get a true to life
encounter with The Blue Fairy, his wish isn't fulfilled. Instead he is
reunited with his deceased mother for one day, a memory that will last
forever. And in the end he falls asleep, dreaming for the very first time...
lost in a new world where wishes do come true.
copyright
c)2001 Bobbi Sinha-Morey
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