A.I.
Who else is on the "I really liked it" team? Am I alone? If I am, perhaps it is fitting since isolation is such a major theme in the film.
Before I get bogged down in the themes department let me say that whether or not one likes the film itself there is no denying the incredible talent of Haley Joel Osment. His transformation in the imprinting scene is one of the most amazing performances I've ever seen. A lot of people are impressed by "big" acting----tears and madness and rage and storms of emotion----but the skill and talent required to effectively and movingly portray such a subtle thing as being infused with a human soul is about the slickest fucking trick in the book. And it was accomplished by a 12 year old boy. It's an Oscar-worthy performance bar none.
Okay, on to other things.
Visually I found A.I. compelling and beautiful. I could if required point out the Kubrick scenes v. the Spielberg scenes, but while watching the film I didn't feel jarred at all. A major shift in the film comes toward the last quarter and I found it most closely resembled the shift in , 2001". It's like being at a backyard party surrounded by people and noise and then diving into the deep end of the pool: time slows, sound mutes and vision is blurred a bit.
The themes of isolation, the nature of love, selfishness v. selflessness, moral responsibility for the growth of technology, responsibility within families and societally for how we behave toward one another and the responsibility we bear toward those who love us are all present. I'm sure there are others, but on a single viewing it's about all I can remember.
cont.
There aren't really any villains in the film only people who disappoint you and make you ashamed of them. The one exception is the ring-leader at the Flesh Fair but he and his minion were so poorly developed it's hard to call them villains. I think, too, that there is a sympathetic light to show him in as well as those who follow him. This would be for me the only real "Spielberg Failing" in that he gives us a character who is obviously there for us to loathe. I don't consider the action sequences of the film to be failings although they are certainly Spielbergisms and I'm of mixed feelings about the Teddy character who is something like a cross between an Ewok and a non-sentient Yoda (if you can imagine that). I certainly don't agree with reviews who state that Spielberg give us a happy ending. All in all I think the complexity of the characters and their motivations is something that Spielberg rarely accomplishes on his own and to see how diligently he resisted his own tendancy to give us moral absolutes is a testament to his respect for Kubrick's dream.
Flaws....well, there are a couple of plot points that don't make a whole lot of sense but they are minor enough that they didn't bug me. I think also that some suspension of disbelief is necessary to account for the behavior of the Mechas (robots) in general. They very obviously have a will to survive. Perhaps this is explained in a scene that takes place between David and some neighborhood boys, but if so it was not clear enough for me to get it until just this very moment when I thought of it some 24 hours later. At any rate, even this is not too bothersome. It's a movie in large part about humanity and how it might be achieved in humanoid robots, it wouldn't be very effective if we didn't care about them and how could we care about them if they don't care for themselves?
