foe movie review

Junior ( Paul Mescal ) and Hen ( Saoirse Ronan ) are not a happy couple. The spark of their early love seems to have withered away in the harsh landscape of the near future. The year is 2065, our planet has been ruined, and people are looking to the sky as a way to survive. But to colonize space, the unholy match of government and private companies will first need an army to help build their new spaceship oasis. A stranger named Terrance ( Aaron Pierre ) arrives to recruit Junior, but not Hen, and given little time to enjoy their days together, the pair faces uncertainty about their relationship and future. Terrance offers them one bit of solace: there will be a flesh-and blood-clone of Junior here on Earth to keep Hen company once the real Junior leaves for space.

If the premise of “Foe” sounds familiar, that’s because sci-fi has grappled with the idea of robots or artificial beings becoming too real since before Philip K. Dick ’s monumental book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? From the replicants in “ Blade Runner ” (an adaptation of Dick’s novel) to the boy who yearned for his mother in “ A.I. Artificial Intelligence ,” there’s no shortage of examples of looking for signs of life in man-made creations. However, “Foe” stumbles rather spectacularly by leaning more on melodrama than logic and choosing cliche over originality. Aside from rehashing tropes and offering some laughably bad moments, the film accomplishes little.

Garth Davis (“ Lion ”) both directed “Foe” and co-wrote the screenplay with Iain Reid , the author of the source material, but something must have been lost on the way from the page to the screen. It’s as if the director doesn’t trust his audience to figure out the story, so not only must there be painfully obvious signs, he opens the movie explaining what’s happened. Now that I knew human-like artificial beings existed in this world, I assumed they’d appear at any moment, and well, I guessed correctly within the first few minutes of the movie. Removing the element of suspense in favor of easy answers takes away much of the story’s thrill.

Things do not improve from there. Mescal and Ronan give this film their all, but it’s almost too much. Davis doesn’t seem to realize that languishing his camera on their pained expressions makes scenes feel overwrought and accidentally comical. It’s almost a challenge not to laugh when these awkward close-ups are coupled with dialogue like, “You’re going to hell! This can never be forgiven!” Take, for instance, a close-up of Ronan as she’s trying to pull her face into a smile. She tries repeatedly, but Davis doesn’t cut or allow her the cry her character so badly needs. She just keeps stretching her face into a pained smile like the Joker. This is supposed to be a sad scene, not a descent into madness, but its emotions are mishandled to the point of a punchline.

It’s odd how “Foe” feels so lifeless, so incurious about what it means to be in a relationship with a facsimile of someone who has fallen out of love with you. A lot of the movie feels off—like the weird, hostile dynamic in Junior’s need to control Hen or the awkward racial dynamic of Junior, a white man, and his rage against Terrance, a Black man from the government/private space company, and what Junior thinks is Terrance’s attraction to Hen, a white woman. While cinematographer Mátyás Erdély reimagines the landscape of Australia into the Midwest of the future, Davis tries to make two Irish actors into Americans, but that doesn’t sound right either. They are supposed to be living in one of the most remote places left, but she works at a sizable diner, and he reports to a rather busy chicken factory? The reason for the government to choose Junior is also vague at best, and if they can make a Xerox copy of his relationship, why couldn’t they send the copy to space? Ah, but “Foe” doesn’t do well under questioning.

Not even the many sweaty close-ups of the movie’s hot stars tussling in the sheets can replicate life in this strangely inert film. We are forced to watch Mescal and Ronan try their damnedest to convince viewers to root for their characters, only to watch their onscreen counterparts reduced to being treated like Frankenstein’s Monster, forced to suffer in front of an audience. The misplaced earnestness of lines like, “We never dreamed it would experience love,” further emphasizes how this once-promising script was badly executed. Images of pink landscapes and Ronan lounging on an ancient tree in a satin dress look more like the premise of a magazine spread than moments from a story. As AI and climate crises become an ever-growing concern for our reality, more sci-fi movies will likely ask the same question as before: “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” Hopefully, they find more interesting answers than “Foe” does.

This review was filed from the 2023 New York Film Festival. “Foe” opens on October 6th in theaters before a Prime Video exclusive launch.

Monica Castillo

Monica Castillo is a critic, journalist, programmer, and curator based in New York City. She is the Senior Film Programmer at the Jacob Burns Film Center and a contributor to RogerEbert.com .

Saoirse Ronan as Henrietta
Paul Mescal as Junior
Aaron Pierre as Terrence
Oliver Coates
Garth Davis

Writer (based on the book by)

Cinematographer.

Mátyás Erdély
Peter Sciberras

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Hen and Junior farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior's family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door w... Read all Hen and Junior farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior's family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal. Hen and Junior farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior's family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal.

Garth Davis
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Trivia The house featured in the movie was re-created to resemble a real house located just outside Westport, Ontario, Canada. Originally, the plan was to film at the actual location near Westport; however, due to actor scheduling constraints, it would have required shooting during the Canadian winter, which was not suitable for the film's storyline. Consequently, the production team opted to construct an exact replica of the Westport house in Australia.

Terrance : We've been working on the next phase of transition for a long time. There's always been several possibilities of human existence in space. The moon, Mars. But with our lands an seas transforming as they are, we decided to built our own space station, our own planet.

Junior : Yeah, what... what's that got to do with us?

Terrance : Right, so I'm here because of the installation. Eh, the first wave of temporary resettlement.

Junior : Oh, yeah, yeah, no, I think I heard about this shit once.

Terrance : You did?

Hen : Looks pretty ridiculous. I mean, why would you spend money up there when you should be fixing thing here?

Soundtracks It's Raining Written by Allen Toussaint Performed by Irma Thomas Courtesy of EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Ltd / Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.

User reviews 147

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Dec 29, 2023
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Runtime 1 hour 50 minutes

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Foe review: One of 2023’s best sci-fi movies that will break your heart

“Garth Davis' Foe is one of the most original and moving sci-fi movies of 2023.”

An intriguing story
Great performances from the two lead actors
Beautiful cinematography
A third act twist that isn't that surprising

We live in a time when science fiction is quickly becoming a reality. Self-driving cars are becoming more commonplace on highways. Artificial intelligence is challenging, or threatening depending on your stance, the very idea of individual human consciousness. And virtual reality is now a regular part of life; less The Lawnmower Man -type horrors than more of a banal extension of our daily routines like shopping, paying bills, or dating.

A sci-fi dystopia that looks all too familiar

More than meets the ai, a talented cast and crew, not your typical downbeat sci-fi movie.

The beauty of Garth Davis’ new movie, Foe , is that it plays as both a throwback to the humanistic sci-fi tales of the 1960s and 1970s, when the genre was concerned more with personal dilemmas than with elaborate space battles or exotic alien species, and as a cautionary mirror to the near future, when climate change and technology has forced all of humanity to change…or else. Yet unlike Hollywood’s recent alarmist blockbusters like The Creator or Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 , Foe uses its future dystopia as mere window dressing to get at something deeper and more universal. When all is said and done, Foe isn’t about the future, really, but rather about something far more intimate and unsettling: the vulnerability of marriage tested by inertia and outside change.

Right away, Foe paints a bleak picture: It’s the near future, the world’s water supply has run low, and climate change has devastated virtually every corner of the world. Situated in the dried-out Dust Bowl of America’s heartland, young married couple Henrietta, or Hen, (Saoirse Ronan) and Junior (Paul Mescal) do their best to get by. Hen works as a diner waitress and tends to their lifeless homestead, sparing enough recycled water to feed one tree, while Junior works at a meat processing plant in a nearby town. Life is hard, but not impossible; there are moments of lightness and humor between the two, and they fight and make love just like any other couple.

Hen and Junior’s daily routine is disturbed one night by the arrival of Terrance, a stranger who proposes an intriguing offer: Junior has been selected to be a test subject in a space colony that will eventually replace Earth as a habitat for humanity. Will he go and become one of the first citizens of a fully functional outer space station? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime proposal, one that will give meaning to Junior’s life and a potential future for them both.

There is, of course, a catch: Junior will be away for a long time, leaving Hen to take care of the house and potentially harming their marriage. As a solution, Terrance offers Hen an AI companion who looks, acts, and sounds exactly like Junior. After some brief hesitation from Hen and uncertainty from Junior, they eventually accept the offer. Junior goes off to space, and Hen is left with AI Junior

I’ve described Foe ‘s plot as best I can, but the movie unfolds in a slightly different way, with a buildup and a third-act narrative twist that’s at once shocking and logical. From the very first scene, things seem a bit off , and for a long while, you can’t really tell why. Is Hen suspicious of her husband from the get-go? Why does Junior appear to be jealous of Terrance? And what’s the deal with that pesky beetle, which carries more metaphorical weight than you realize?

The director, Garth Davis, strikes a delicate balance between establishing a believable marriage while also laying the foundation for a story that will eventually reveal another hidden layer, one that will question everything you’ve just seen. yet what could have felt manipulative and dishonest instead feels genuinely suspenseful and intriguing; it’s not a cheap trick. In a sci-fi movie largely set in an old home straight out of the 20th century, Foe still feels modern and urgent; there are few lulls in its narrative, and that’s because Davis keeps you engaged with the story and makes you care about the movie’s central relationship.

Of course, it helps that Davis has a talented cast and crew that help bring this skewed sci-fi tale to life. As Hen, Ronan finds shades of subtlety and strength in a character that could’ve been shrill and one-note. Hen isn’t a victim, but she isn’t a symbol of independence either, and Ronan brings out all of the character’s complexities without going overboard. As Junior, Mescal adds yet another sad-eyed man-boy to his filmography, but his performance here feels different from his previous work in Normal People and Aftersun . His Junior is alternatively angry, confused, and defiant, and he pulls off a tricky act that sells the third act twist. As Terrance, Aaron Pierre doesn’t have much to do except look vaguely menacing, but he gives the character a surprising charge, one both violent and erotic, that adds more depth to the character than probably what was intended.

Visually, Foe is one of the richest-looking movies of the year. The cinematographer, Mátyás Erdély, uses dusty browns and washed-out yellows to suggest a thirsty earth as well as a starved marriage, but he punctuates these scenes with occasional bursts of shadow and color that suggest a life beyond the homestead and the promise of change for both Junior and Henrietta. There’s one bravura scene in the middle of the movie that’s unforgettable; at sunset, Junior and Hen run after a wild horse, only to discover a wildfire burning in the dark, with both humans and animals trying to take cover from it. It’s a visual that encapsulates what the movie is about: a fire scorching the earth, disturbing everyone around it, but also giving life to the couple that run toward it, suggesting rebirth and a new start.

Foe could’ve been a bummer of a movie, yet another sci-fi tale that tells us we’re all doomed, but instead, it’s one of the most hopeful movies out there. It’s also one of the most original sci-fi movies in the last 10 years as, like Ex Machina and Arrival before it, it is less concerned with the superficial pleasures the genre brings and more interested in asking basic questions about humanity without finding any easy answers.

It’s not a stretch to say that the movie, in its sometimes brutal portrayal of a disintegrating marriage, has more in common with the 1966 classic Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe? than, say, Alien , and that’s what makes it so special. You won’t see anything quite like Foe this year, and you won’t soon forget it either.

Foe is currently playing in theaters nationwide.

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Foe film review — Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal star in sci-fi that goes soft

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20 Oct 2023

It’s hard to make an original marriage drama and it’s hard to make an original dystopian thriller, because somehow both marriage and dystopia feel like an omnipresent fact of daily life at this point. There's an odd parallel between the tension of a long-term relationship and the tension of a dying planet. The looming threat of technology, meanwhile, seems poised to infiltrate our lives in more ways than we can comprehend.

This is the world in which Foe makes sense: a sci-fi riff on trust issues, loneliness and what love really means. Paul Mescal plays the gruff Junior, farming land passed down through his family for generations. He and Hen (Saoirse Ronan, on fantastic form) have been distant for a while, as the world around them suffers and hope feels harder than ever. The promise of a new life comes from mysterious stranger Terrance (Aaron Pierre, destined for great things following his beguiling breakout performance here), who informs Junior that he will be sent on a space mission, leaving his wife without him for two years.

Mescal and Ronan are among this generation’s best actors to convey such pain.

What follows could be dismissed as Black Mirror -esque: could you — would you — love an AI version of your partner? But the story, from novelist Iain Reid — who impressed with another complex psychological romantic drama I’m Thinking Of Ending Things — earns its twists and ultimate sense of despair. Their doomed relationship is gloomily familiar, despite convincing chemistry and moments of sincere vulnerability. The questions of dwindling passion and what shape loyalty must take are fascinating, and Mescal and Ronan are among this generation’s best actors to convey such pain.

If anything, Foe is plagued by the climate it exists in. Surely, few people are not worrying about such existential questions — Can I trust you? Can I trust myself? Is it even worth it anymore? Your patience for yet another screen romance to worry about may be drastically tested at this point. Still, if you can face it, this one’s just about worth asking those difficult questions.

Movies | 24 08 2023

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Foe Reviews

“Foe” wants to be a delicate look at how love is lost and eventually replaced, possibly by unorthodox stand-ins, but it’s a rather incurious sci-fi feature that squanders its themes and setup in favour of melodrama.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 19, 2024

Garth Davis directs two of the best and hottest young actors in the business, but he cannot create chemistry between them, which deflates the film's romantic vein.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 3, 2024

The story feels like a prequel for “Blade Runner” (1982) meets “The Stepford Wives” (1975) except no human beings were harmed in the making of this film.

Full Review | May 11, 2024

A film bravely, and admirably, committed to the kind of big emotional swing that unfortunately proves to be its undoing.

Full Review | Apr 10, 2024

It's suffocating to the point where you're as desperate for an escape from this scorched Earth misery as these characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Feb 16, 2024

The slow-pace can be frustrating to those looking for more action in their sci-fi, but what you'll find is astute, nuanced performances from two leads, especially Ronan.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 21, 2024

These scenes from a marriage are sometimes evocative, but they don’t tie together.

Full Review | Jan 17, 2024

A story with a particularity that, although it exposes aspects of science fiction, in essence it is a marital drama. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 10, 2024

Limited in its development, Foe drowns in its tedious narrative and missteps. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jan 8, 2024

Everybody starts acting very strangely, there are spittle-flying arguments and sweaty sex scenes, and none of it makes much sense until the big reveal, when it makes even less sense.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jan 6, 2024

You’d think a robotic replacement for a husband could be a fun and intriguing look into a possible future — with AI taking over and all that. However, not even Academy Award nominees Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal can save this low-key and weak script.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 5, 2024

It's a monotonous experience that leaves you wondering why this film was made in the first place. Steer clear of this dull film.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 5, 2024

Foe tries to be a head trip, but ends up being a head scratcher.

Full Review | Jan 5, 2024

Thorny moral dilemmas intrigue.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5 | Jan 4, 2024

When Foe is finished — when fires both figurative and literal have been extinguished and we know (or at least think we know) what has become of Hen and Junior — we’re simply left wanting more from the experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 30, 2023

There is no telling where Foe will take you, but it will be a long, hard fall; either to the pits of despair or desire, ambivalence galore

Full Review | Original Score: 75/100 | Nov 23, 2023

An unsettling combination of sci-fi, horror and intimate drama that is evoked by two terrific young actors and enhanced by lovely work on camera, but the big picture concerns the narrative explores needed strengthening at the writing stage

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 20, 2023

Foe initially presented as a sc-fi but settled into a relationship film where we meet the couple at the fragmented stage. The singular focus was its weakness but the strong performances are without question.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Nov 14, 2023

There was potentially an engaging film in this material, but the fuse burns slowly from start to finish, and nothing ever goes bang.

Full Review | Nov 13, 2023

Overall, the film must be counted as a disappointment, though there are interesting elements to this futuristic drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 7, 2023

Screen Rant

Foe review: ronan & mescal are perfect in compelling, visually moving drama.

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One obi-wan kenobi line set up the rise of skywalker's palpatine twist 36 years earlier, eden review: i loved to hate ana de armas in ron howard's completely unhinged thriller [tiff].

Foe offers a unique take on the failing marriage narrative by incorporating climate change and AI, creating an intimate story that breaks away from typical futuristic elements.
The film's visuals are both breathtaking and devastating, capturing the desolate landscape and the rekindling of the couple's relationship amidst the surrounding death.
While Foe lacks in the thriller department and the pacing may feel slow at times, it is captivating to watch, thanks to riveting visuals and strong performances from Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, and Aaron Pierre.

Foe adds a unique layer to the failing marriage narrative. Directed by Garth Davis from a screenplay he co-wrote with Iain Reid, who authored the novel the film is based on, Foe takes into account the consequences of climate change and AI to deliver an intimate story that isn’t par for the course when the aforementioned are involved. You won’t find a stereotypical futuristic city, or openly robotic entities in the story. Rather, the film offers an intriguing, thought-provoking take on marriage. It’s a slow burn and sometimes confusing film with an emotionally gutting twist that, if you’re willing to go along for the mysterious, somewhat strange ride, is worth it in the end.

Set in 2065, Foe follows married couple Hen (Saoirse Ronan) and Junior (Paul Mescal) , who live a quiet life on a secluded farm. By this point, climate change has ravaged the world, running water is hard to come by, and rain is a rare occurrence. With the future not looking any brighter, Hen and Junior’s life is changed forever when they’re approached by Terrance (Aaron Pierre), who has arrived to conscript Junior to live in space for a year. The couple is already struggling in their marriage, and the proposal seems strange at first, but it may also be the best thing to happen to their relationship.

Paul Mescal leaning on Saoirse Ronan in Foe

One of Foe’s greatest strengths is its visuals. Cinematographer Mátyás Erdély offers open, sweeping views of a desolate landscape that is simultaneously breathtaking and devastating. When Hen and Junior are out in the open, a sense of freedom permeates their relationship; they may be living in a wasteland, but there’s beauty that lingers in every moment as they take it all in, their relationship being reborn amidst the surrounding death. It’s at times touching and melodic, yet unsettling as we wait for the other shoe to drop at some point.

To that end, Foe isn’t exactly a thriller; it’s lacking in that department. The editing doesn’t heighten the psychological tension and waiting for the twist to be revealed until the final third of the film hinders some of the preceding aspects of the story. We continue waiting for something to happen, especially as the psychological elements begin to take shape and subsequently unravel, but the interspersed scenes featuring marital discussions and jealousy don’t do much to enhance the narrative. And yet, there is something striking about Foe . It takes its time getting to the big twist, but that doesn’t make it any less captivating to watch.

Its visuals are riveting, and Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal’s performances draw us into their world, where their characters are finding each other again despite everything. Whereas other films about failing marriages have been keen to focus on the details of a couple’s downfall, Foe sidesteps this altogether to bring us a reverse love story of sorts. Mescal and Ronan certainly rise to the task, bringing passion, nuance, and emotional devastation to the forefront. Aaron Pierre’s Terrance acts as a foil and a mysterious obstacle to their relationship, and his presence adds to the growing unrest that boils beneath the surface of the central dynamic.

Despite Foe’s shortcomings, it has plenty of heart and something to say. Its visuals are magnetic and Ronan and Mescal give their all in gripping, emotional performances. In Foe’s attempts to have a twist ending, though, it occasionally feels like we’re being tricked. At the same time, the twist adds a layer of depth and intrigue to the story. The film walks a fine line between lethargic and compelling storytelling. Davis struggles to balance the two without losing sight of the point, and yet Foe remains a fascinating look at marriage from a fresh perspective.

Foe is now playing in limited theaters. The film is 110 minutes long and rated R for language, some sexual content, and nudity.

Foe is a sci-fi thriller film by director Garth Davis, based on the novel of the same name. Married couple Henrietta and Junior tend the land inherited by Junior's family until a stranger appears at the door, offering Junior to head to space while leaving Henrietta in the care of a robot during his absence.

3 star movies

Foe Review: Emotionally Profound Sci-Fi Thriller

By Jonathan Sim

It’s not often that a movie perfectly understands what the science fiction genre should do. Garth Davis , director of films like Lion and Mary Magdalene, has crafted a truly special film with Foe . This movie stars Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan as a married couple living in the Midwest in 2065, the setting for a dystopian future where Earth is becoming increasingly uninhabitable and some are moving to a space station. When a man named Terrance ( Aaron Pierre ) arrives at their door with an unusual proposition, everything kicks into gear, and we have a beautiful film that deals with timely, universal themes.

With A.I. as a constant topic of discussion in the media lately, it’s fascinating to see how films reflect this subject. Foe features the idea of human substitutes, designed to serve in the place of a human in certain situations where humans cannot be present. This movie delves into the concept of whether a person can truly be replicated, with some ideas feeling reminiscent of Blade Runner . Not only is it a very suitable film for the times, but it also subverts a few sci-fi tropes. Typically, when the call to action involves a character being plucked out of their lives to go to space, it is an exciting moment.

However, Foe goes down a different route. Instead, it shows the emotional depth of that decision. Junior (Mescal) is chosen to go into space, and he would have to leave his wife, Henrietta (Ronan), behind. There are bits of Interstellar here as we get to sit with these two people and their emotions. Davis spends a lot of time examining them. Through their dialogue, we see their perfections, their imperfections, everything that makes them work, and everything that doesn’t. They feel lived in, with a long history behind them that they look back upon while being forced to look forward to the future.

Foe is science fiction, it’s psychological thriller, but above all else, it’s a drama. There’s a strong emotional relationship at the center of this film that makes every event very compelling. It sometimes plays like a twisted romance drama that starts out beautiful but takes a hell of a turn in the second half. Davis successfully gets you to care about the characters this movie surrounds. At the core, we have a couple about to be torn apart by external forces, which is heart wrenching and tragic. One particularly well-written scene features Junior telling Henrietta all of the small things he will miss about her, which will resonate with many viewers, myself included.

Mescal is proving himself to be a movie star. He got an Oscar nomination for Aftersun, and this is his second appearance at NYFF after his role in the fantastic All of Us Strangers . He is similarly phenomenal here. There are a few scenes, particularly one where he demonstrates an unspeakable rage, where you get a sense of how fantastic of a performer he is. With his upcoming role in Gladiator 2 , his career is blooming in the direction he deserves. Ronan is one of the best actresses working today, and she brings power and gravitas to her character. Furthermore, we have two Irish lead actors throwing on their perfect American accents in another example of how easy it is for non-American actors to do our accents.

There are three main characters in Foe, but most marketing materials and headlines only showcase the two Oscar-nominated leads. The character of Terrance was originally supposed to be played by Lakeith Stanfield , a phenomenal actor who would have done an excellent job. However, he was replaced by Pierre, who is not the big name that audiences will see the movie for. However, don’t doubt Pierre. He’s sublime in a film that gives him a lot to work with. He’s a mysterious force that can be antagonistic and pull you in with his words. He’s voicing Mufasa in Disney’s upcoming The Lion King prequel film, so we can only hope his career gains traction from here. He is superb.

Foe is beautiful, meditative sci-fi film. It grounds the story in the emotions of a complex romantic relationship. The feelings both lead characters struggle with are true to any real-life couple. There’s something so resonant about a sci-fi movie where the world is in turmoil, but two people can still find happiness in each other, even if it’s finite. There is a lot of tragedy in this movie, especially in the conversations each character has with Terrance, sometimes not knowing what the other person will hear. The final half-hour is particularly astounding, as we have plot points that feel inevitable but in the best way possible. Not all of it works, but the rich, emotional layers allow this movie to be one of the best science fiction films of the year.

SCORE: 8/10

As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to “Great.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact.

Disclaimer: ComingSoon attended the world premiere at the New York Film Festival for our review.

Jonathan Sim is a film critic and filmmaker born and raised in New York City. He has met/interviewed some of the leading figures in Hollywood, including Christopher Nolan, Zendaya, Liam Neeson, and Denis Villeneueve. He also works as a screenwriter, director, and producer on independent short films.

Foe's Ending Explained: The Massive Plot Twist And How The Movie Pulled It Off According To The Cinematographer

How Foe pulled off its massive AI plot twist.

Paul Mescal resting his head on Saoirse Ronan's shoulder in Foe.

Spoilers for Garth Davis’ Foe are ahead. If you haven’t seen the sci-fi drama, you can check it out now in theaters.

Many of the best sci-fi movies feature an epic plot twist. Take Arrival and Interstellar for example, both films simultaneously blow your mind, and have you contemplating your humanity. Well, the latest science fiction film to hit the 2023 movie schedule , Foe , features a pretty epic (and unexpected) twist that needs to be broken down. Luckily, after speaking with the film’s cinematographer, Mátyás Erdély, I have a good understanding of what went down in this intimate story about AI, and how they pulled off the big reveal at the end of the film starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal .

Before we hop into the nitty gritty of this movie’s ending, first let’s review the basic story. This book-to-screen adaptation based on Iain Reid’s novel of the same name follows a couple, Jr. ( Paul Mescal ) and Hen ( Saoirse Ronan ), after Jr. is selected to be part of a group that goes to a space station to see if it's habitable. When a man, Terrance, shows up at their rural farm to discuss this proposition, he also explains how when Jr. leaves, they’ll give Hen an AI version of her husband. However, we’re not made aware of when the switch happens. So, the ending of this sci-fi drama revolves around the audience figuring out that we’ve been watching AI Jr. this whole time.

Saoirse Ronan as Hen with hair blowing in her face in Foe.

What Happened At The End Of Foe?

The beginning of the end comes when we find out that the Jr. we’ve been watching for the majority of the movie is actually AI. The human version of Hen’s husband returns from his space mission, and it’s determined that the artificial intelligence version of him needs to be laid to rest.

It’s a jarring experience watching one man witness his AI clone’s demise, and as Jr. calmly watches the proceeding, Hen freaks out.

After AI Jr. is gone, the human Jr. and Hen try to work out their marriage. Throughout the entire movie, it’s made clear that Mescal’s character is very stuck in his ways, and doesn’t want change. However, Hen desires her own agency, is curious about the world, and wants to leave their farm. The two have a conversation about how Ronan's character developed feelings for AI Jr. while human Jr. was gone, and he gets extremely mad, in a scary way.

This leads to Hen giving her husband a letter with nothing written on it – something she told Terrance she would do – and leaving their farm. Then, a green light is shown, which we discover is how AI is activated, and what I took to be an artificial intelligence Hen appears at Jr.’s home.

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In the end, it seems like AI Hen and Jr. live happily in their home, and Mescal’s character is not forced to adapt or change with the times. Meanwhile, human Hen is seen flying away. We don’t know where she’s going, but we know she finally got what she wanted.

Foe’s ending hinges on the moment we find out that the Jr. we’ve been watching for the majority of the movie is not the human version. It’s a major, and mind-boggling, reveal, and the cinematographer, Mátyás Erdély, broke down how they pulled it off while speaking with CinemaBlend.

Paul Mescal looking a bit shocked in a screenshot from Foe.

How Foe’s Cinematographer Filmed Paul Mescal’s Big Plot Twist

When I saw Foe, what immediately struck me during the plot twist was how Jr. reacted to seeing a being who looked and talked exactly like him. At that point, AI Jr. is freaking out and begging those around him to not put him down. Meanwhile, human Jr. is very calmly watching his doppelgänger struggle.

While this shot is mind-boggling to watch, and Mescal's two performances show off his range, it was actually quite simple to shoot as Mátyás Erdély explained to me:

It's actually much simpler than I originally imagined. Basically, we're shooting these scenes twice, once with Jr. and once with J.R., which were these two characters names, you know one for the AI and one for the real person. We just had a very strict breakdown of what are the shots that we're gonna see them both at the same time? And then we would frame, we had a [body] double. So we shot some of this with a double. So if it was out of focus or if it was partly visible, we would use the double. So it's super simple. But if it's both characters then we would shoot one pass with J.R. and then one pass with the other character and then it's in post, the effects would merge these two images together.

Throughout our interview, Erdély told me that they shot this movie as simply and as practically as they could. This included the massive plot twist where Paul Mescal plays two characters at the same time. It turns out that the harder part of shooting this film, and building to the end, came with how they created the first two-thirds of Foe .

How Foe's Creative Team Kept The Plot Twist A Secret From The Audience

While shooting the reveal about the two versions of Jr. was fairly easy, keeping this fact a secret proved to be a bit challenging. Mátyás Erdély elaborated on the conversations he had with director Garth Davis about how they would shoot the story since Hen knows about AI Jr. and the audience doesn't. He said:

I think what was even more interesting is that when the film starts, Hen, Saoirse’s character, obviously already knows. And we had a lot of conversations with Garth about how do we deal with that fact? How do we shoot her? But, [in] creating this tension, obviously, we cannot reveal that something is off. But we also have to have something, you know? We as filmmakers, we have to deal with that somehow. So that was this very fine line of what we were able to do and what we were not able to do.

Ultimately, Davis wanted the movie shot “very straightforward” so they wouldn’t reveal anything to the audience. However, Erdély noted that even though he used his camera to show how life literally was for Hen and Jr., you can sense that something is wrong because of Ronan’s complex performance. She’s in the know the entire time, and her “inner struggle,” as the director of photography put it, is what helps us better understand the bigger picture.

In the end, the audience has to come to terms with the horrors of what’s happening in this movie in real-time. There really isn't much warning; it's just clear that something is off. The plot twist and the AI reveal are unsettling, it’s also the final nail in the coffin of this couple who has been on the ropes for a long time. The plot twist emphasizes their differences, and drives them to make life-changing decisions – for Jr. it’s to stay home, and for Hen it’s to leave.

If you are interested in watching or re-watching Foe , you can do so by checking it out in theaters. Also, it’s an Amazon Studios film, which means it will likely be available through a Prime Video subscription at some point in the near future.

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel . She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country , and she's enjoyed every second of it.

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Foe review: Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan bring sultriness to their on-screen marriage but it’s spoiled by earnestness

By Luke Goodsell

Topic: Arts, Culture and Entertainment

A white man leans his head on a white woman's shoulder while she looks pallidly in a bathroom mirror.

What if your loved one was replaced with a life-like robot? ( Supplied: Transmission )

"I don't want a robot living with my wife," protests Paul Mescal's beleaguered grunt in Foe, banging his fist on a table with all the conviction of a sketch comedy performer trying to keep from cracking up in front of a live studio audience.

It might sound like high farce, but Australian filmmaker Garth Davis's ambitious, sometimes mysterious sci-fi romance is deadly earnest in its delivery.

It's a film that is bravely, and admirably, committed to the kind of big emotional swing that unfortunately proves to be its undoing.

A white man in his 30s with brunette hair wearing a white singlet and checkered shirt sits in the back of a ute.

The film was shot over three months in outback Victoria and South Australia. ( Supplied: Transmission )

Based on the 2018 novel by Canadian writer Iain Reid, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Davis ( Lion ; Mary Magdalene ), Foe poses that age-old question: What if your partner was replaced with a replicant?

Mescal and fellow compatriot Saoirse Ronan play an unlikely Mid-Western American couple in 2065, where — as a title card all but copied-and-pasted from Blade Runner informs us — climate change has rendered the planet uninhabitable, the population is moving to off-world space stations, and "simulants" have been created as substitutes to humans.

Factory worker Junior (Mescal) and diner waitress Hen (Ronan) are among the few holdouts on Earth, stubbornly clinging to their rustic farmhouse in a magic-hour America that looks suspiciously like regional Victoria. (The film was shot there, and in parts of South Australia, early last year, with Mescal also delighting Melbourne celebrity spotters by seamlessly blending in with the mullets of the inner north .)

A white man in his 30s kisses a white woman in her 30s in a bed; she looks away forlornly.

“Even though the book was written through Junior’s point of view, we felt it was Hen’s story,” Davis told Inverse. ( Supplied: Transmission )

Late one night, they're visited by an enigmatic, vaguely threatening stranger, Terrance (Aaron Pierre), a consultant from an off-world government initiative who informs them that Junior has been selected to travel to a space station for two years, leaving Henrietta alone.

To observe the couple ahead of their separation, Terrance moves into the farmhouse's guest room, complicating an already fraying marriage.

It all seems both a little off, and a little familiar. Does Hen know Terrance? Why is Junior acting so out of character?

Foe arrives as the latest in a mini zeitgeist of movies tangling with the hot topic of artificial intelligence, following the camp antics of M3GAN ; and the action epic The Creator , also set in 2065. (Mark your calendars for the robot invasion, I guess.)

But Davis is less interested in asking existential questions about technology than he is in using science fiction as a jumping-off point to explore a human relationship in flux.

For a while, at least, the film holds the audience in a captive trance, simmering with a sense of intrigue and menace. We're never quite sure which version of Hen and Junior we're about to encounter, a slipperiness that Ronan and Mescal play in a state of sultry, sweaty dissonance.

A blonde white woman in her 30s wearing a pale yellow shirt stands outside in a desert, with wind blowing.

“I guess what really drew me to it was the central relationship.," Davis told The Hollywood Reporter. ( Supplied: Transmission )

With its uncanny setting and strange accents, Foe can often seem abstract and otherworldly, with Hungarian cinematographer Mátyás Erdély ( Son of Saul ) shooting the Australian outback — all surreal red salt flats, wild horses and burning barns — to resemble a dream unfolding out of time.

Once Terrance reveals the overarching plan, however — that the off-world corporation will replace Junior with his synthetic clone to keep Hen company while he's away — the movie takes a dramatic turn for the accidentally comedic, lapsing into increasingly cornball dialogue and trite visual motifs. (Not to mention the billionth use of Skeeter Davis's all-purpose apocalyptic anthem, The End of the World.)

Oscar nominees Ronan and Mescal are both charismatic, gripping performers, and they give Hen and Junior a rich sense of lived-in love and loathing. But despite the stars' best, hot-and-bothered exertion, Davis and Reid's screenplay eventually hangs them out to dry.

A white blonde woman and a white brunette man, both in their 30s, stand intimately looking at each other in a desert.

“The work in this film was finding out what it’s like to be in a tired relationship. That’s not a sensation I’m familiar with," Mescal told Harper's Bazaar. ( Supplied: Transmission )

The film's overheated dramatic climax is — albeit unintentionally — one for the ages, a perfect storm of great ideas run aground on terrible execution: gruesomely sincere performances, laugh-out-loud lines and a maudlin violin score wailing away at every turn.

Still, Foe is, in many ways, too odd and too precious an object to deserve the critical scorn it's going to attract.

As someone who's generally a sucker for this kind of bravely earnest sci-fi, I almost feel the need to be protective of Davis's film, or at least hope that it finds its defenders.

Foe is in cinemas now.

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Savina Petkova

Not quite the revelation, but we love a mercurial Paul Mescal performance.

What it's about

Director Garth Davis (who worked with Jane Campion on Top of the Lake) adapts Iain Reid's novel Foe with little concern about realism and veracity. The psychologically dense event at the film's centre—an impending separation of husband and wife—renders the whole world around them meaningless. Saoirse Ronan stars as the self-assured Henrietta (Hen) and Paul Mescal, as the belligerent Junior, two of the last remaining people in rural and farm areas. The year is 2065 and Earth is unrecognizable (peak Anthropocene) and life can be reduced to the impossibility of letting go. One fine day, a stranger comes to visit (Aaron Pierre), informing the couple that Junior has been drafted not to the military, but to a space colonization mission. A most curious triangle forms when Pierre's character decides to stay in the family guest room: there is no telling where Foe will take you, but it will be a long, hard fall; either to the pits of despair or desire, ambivalence galore.

What stands out

Perhaps the biggest achievement of Foe is bringing together two acclaimed actors together on screen for the first time. Casting Ronan and Mescal was enough to create proper buzz way before the film's release, but seeing it for yourself is a rare delight. Equally removed from their sentimental core, both Hen and Junior seem to be surprisingly good at repressing their existential dread in the wake of a world moving on as they stand still. Even if it's hard to describe their shared emotional turmoil as "chemistry", the two performances yield something uncanny, and frankly, quite erotically potent. Their screams and aggressive gestures may be directed at invisible enemies, but at the same time they fuel a passionate yearning to keep together and never be apart. In such volatile performances one can find traces of old-school romanticism

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‘Foe’ Review: Garth Davis Newest Film Navigates Through Desolation And Unfulfilled Promises

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The editing contributes to the overbearing sense of confusion. Scenes are disjointed and severed abruptly, rendering a dissonance between sequences that further aggravates the narrative disconnect. This makes each scene feel isolated, and lacking connective tissue to its counterparts. However, it’s crucial to acknowledge the visuals, notably the cinematography by Mátyás Erdély, and the directional finesse of Davis. Their collaboration captures the desolate, windswept landscapes, with the dusky shots emerging as the saving grace.

The culmination of Foe deviates from the book, adding dimensions of unwarranted melodrama that reaches for profoundness that exceeds its grasp, resulting in underwhelming revelations that overshadow the story’s trajectory. The characters seem to be wandering shadows, their soullessness reflected in their actions, making me question why I should care about their lives.

Foe ‘s stunning visuals can’t save it from its overwhelming irregularities. The cinematic adaptation of the source material should make for an engaging experience, but instead losses its essence in the pursuit of Davis establishing his personal visual style. The result in a film drowned in under-delivered aspirations and aggressive narrative ennui, when the focus should be on how climate change can change people for better or for worse.

Title: Foe Festival: New York Film Festival (Spotlight) Distributor: Amazon Release date: October 6, 2023 Director: Garth Davis Screenwriters: Garth Davis and Iain Reid Cast : Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, and Aaron Pierre Rating: R Running time: 1 hr 50 min

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Foe movie poster: A close-up of Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan as married couple Junior and Hen, lying next to each other.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 0 Reviews
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Common Sense Media Review

Bleak, ponderous AI sci-fi drama has language, sex, nudity.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

A married couple are briefly seen having sex on a number of occasions; grunting

Multiple uses of "f--k" and variants of. Also "s--t," "bulls--t," "jeez," "hell,

A character tries to run into a burning barn but is tackled and then knocked out

Characters are seen drinking beer and wine on multiple occasions. In one scene,

Any Positive Content?

The film offers stark warnings about the future if something is not done about c

Junior and Hen are in marriage that is struggling. Both admit to being unhappy b

The main two characters are a White American heterosexual married couple played

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A married couple are briefly seen having sex on a number of occasions; grunting is heard, breasts and buttocks seen. Characters naked lying in bed covered by sheets and each other. Characters seen naked from behind in a non-sexual context. Characters shower but no sensitive parts shown.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Multiple uses of "f--k" and variants of. Also "s--t," "bulls--t," "jeez," "hell," "idiot," and "dumb." "Oh my God," "Jesus," and "God" used as exclamations.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

A character tries to run into a burning barn but is tackled and then knocked out. They wake up in their home with a damaged shoulder. After spotting some people on their land, a character chases after them firing their rifle. They miss and are then apprehended, being punched unconscious before having a chip inserted in their neck. In what appears to be a dream sequence, a character tries to suffocate another. A character repeatedly punches a wall until their fist bleeds. Another character smashes a piano with the butt of a rifle. During a dinner, someone climbs over the table and slaps a guest. Characters become anguished and there is a distressing scene where a character is wrapped in plastic and has the air sucked out of it. An infestation of bugs is briefly seen. Later one is squashed. References to and visualisations of the planet being destroyed due to climate change.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters are seen drinking beer and wine on multiple occasions. In one scene, three adults are clearly drunk, one of whom admits to being so. Flutes of champagne are handed out to toast a success. Some smoking including a character offering what could be a cannabis joint, although that's not clear. Pills, which are said to be an anesthetic, are consumed. A character is injected with a syringe.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

The film offers stark warnings about the future if something is not done about climate change. It also raises questions about artificial intelligence and what form this may take in the future. Relationships must be worked at, but this includes allowing each other to express themselves and behave freely. Courage is shown in stepping up to help a greater cause, but at what cost.

Positive Role Models

Junior and Hen are in marriage that is struggling. Both admit to being unhappy but try to make the relationship work. They show kindness to each other, although Junior does behave harshly at times. Terrence is polite but also devious and deceitful. His behavior frustrates and angers Junior and Hen on occasion, particularly Junior.

Diverse Representations

The main two characters are a White American heterosexual married couple played by Irish actor Paul Mescal and American-born Irish actor Saoirse Ronan . The other main actor is the Black-British actor Aaron Pierre who plays a U.S. government official. The screenplay is written by two men, a White Canadian and a White Australian, the latter also directs.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that Foe is a sci-fi drama that deals with themes around artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change. Set in the year 2065, in a world that has been made barren by years of droughts and harsh winds, Junior ( Paul Mescal ) is told that he has no choice but to go on a mission to space to help build an alternative home for humans. While he's gone, his wife Hen ( Saoirse Ronan ) will be supported by an AI replica of Junior. The film paints a depressing future and poses a number of ethical questions about the use of AI. There are a few brief sex scenes with some nudity depicted including breasts and buttocks. Language includes variants of "f--k" and "s--t," and there is smoking and drinking. In one scene, Junior, Hen, and a U.S government official called Terrence ( Aaron Pierre ) get drunk together. Violence is infrequent but does include a character being punched unconscious after firing his rifle at people. In another scene, the same character punches a wall until their fist bleeds. Characters become distressed, which in turn can be upsetting to watch. The film is based on a book of the same name by Ian Reid. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

FOE takes place in 2065, in a world that has been ravaged by years of drought. Married couple Junior ( Paul Mescal ) and Hen ( Saoirse Ronan ) live on an isolated farm, their relationship faltering, when a U.S. government official called Terrence ( Aaron Pierre ) suddenly turns up to make an offer that will change their lives forever.

Is It Any Good?

Despite its big ideas about AI, climate change, and what the future holds for human existence, this sci-fi drama never manages to take off. Based on a book by Ian Reid -- Reid shares co-writing credits with director Garth Davis for the screenplay -- Foe is set in the year 2065. Years of drought have left lands barren to the point that the U.S. government is conscripting selected young men to head into space to build an alternative home for humans. One of the chosen is Mescal's Junior, whose marriage to Hen (Ronan), like the land that surrounds their isolated Midwest farm, is slowly dying in front of them. Standing in for Junior while he's gone will be an artificial intelligence replica, who after a series of tests and interviews will be indistinguishable from the real-life Junior. If this is sounding familiar, it's likely you've seen a Black Mirror episode that tackles similar ideas, only better. Mescal and Ronan both give it their all, but the story is ponderous and leaves too many questions unanswered. Perhaps that's Davis respecting the audience's intelligence, allowing them to come up with their own answers and interpretations. But then the final five minutes ruins this theory, hammering home a final twist that had already been revealed.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what Foe had to say about artificial intelligence. What do you think the film was trying to say about AI ? How do you think it will impact our future? Are you scared about it, excited, or both?

How did the film portray the sex and nudity? Was it affectionate and respectful? Was it tastefully handled? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

What impact did climate change have on the world? How concerned are you with how we treat the planet? What can you do to make a positive change ?

Discuss the strong language used in the movie. What did it contribute to the movie? Is a certain kind of language expected in a movie like this?

Movie Details

In theaters : October 6, 2023
On DVD or streaming : November 7, 2023
Cast : Saoirse Ronan , Paul Mescal , Aaron Pierre
Director : Garth Davis
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
Studio : Amazon Studios
Genre : Science Fiction
Topics : Book Characters , Robots , Space and Aliens
Run time : 110 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : language, some sexual content and nudity
Last updated : June 28, 2024

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Foe Movie Ending Explained: Here's What Really Happened

Here is what happened at the end of the recently released movie, foe..

Many will be looking for a deeper exploration of what happened at the end of Foe , the Garth Davis film starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal.

The movie, based on the 2018 book written by Ian Reid, follows a couple living in the future on a rural farmstead on a dying Earth, who are told that Mescal’s Junior will need to be sent away to spend time on a large space station. While he is away, his wife, Hen, will be left with an artificial human replacement version of her husband.

The story features one big twist halfway through, giving audiences another before the credits roll.

The Ending of Foe Explained

Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal hugging in Foe movie ending

Foe 's first twist pulls the rug out from under everyone’s feet halfway through the movie. As it turns out, the version of Paul Mescal’s Junior that audiences have been watching is not the original.

From the very first scene, viewers have been following the Human Substitute of Mescal's character. Those two years the couple had to wait for was the amount of time the real Junior was on the space station.

There were hints of it throughout the film, such as a dead beetle or Junior’s spontaneous jog in the desert.

Without much warning, the real Paul Mescal is brought back. His AI replacement proceeds to be inhumanly stripped down and put to sleep—a horrible scene that proves to be a heavy burden for everyone in the house, especially Hen.

This leads to how the movie ends.

Anyone watching the movie should be able to lock in on how unstable and suboptimal Junior and Hen are together. But, with this new Junior, Hen starts to fall back in love with the man she once knew.

So, when this duplicate is killed, it takes a toll. As one would expect, the complication of her connection to this other man proves troublesome for the original Junior, and their usual arguments start anew.

This leads Hen to finally take off, leaving an empty letter for Junior. But there is another gift: her human substitute.

At first, Junior does not seem to know. But then, it is implied that he knows this is not the real Hen, though he does not seem to care.

After all, this is his perfect wife. Meanwhile, the actual Hen gets to live her life and go on the adventures she has wanted to experience her whole life.

Why Audiences Aren't Loving Foe Movie

Foe has not landed well with many. Currently, the project has a 24% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes —people aren't loving it, to say the least.

While it is widely agreed that the lead actors, Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal, give honorable performances, they cannot quite save the story itself. It also does not help that the characters and their relationship, the heart of the story, are far from likable.

Watching the film, some felt Mescal’s Junior was just a miserable human being. So it was unexpected that not only was it revealed this was the replacement, but somehow Hen started to fall back in love with him.

The film's sci-fi elements also beg further exploration and could have used a little more focus. It's also unclear how Hen would have just casually gotten herself a replacement—especially as she wasn't being drafted to go onto the space station.

For those wanting to explore the story further, be sure to check out the original book.

Foe is now streaming on Prime Video .

Foe Movie Plot Explained: The True Meaning of the Film

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‘Uglies’ Review: Beauty Is a Beast

Joey King plays a teenager in a dystopian world where cosmetic surgery seems to be the cure for inequality.

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A girl in a gray sweater with a bloody forehead is lying on her side amid orchids and looking above her.

By Amy Nicholson

“Uglies,” based on the young adult book series by Scott Westerfeld, presents a cheekily vapid solution to world peace: At age 16, everyone is surgically enhanced to be pretty, thus eradicating inequality and conflict.

Here, pretty has a template — imagine the uncanny valley of Instagram face with shiny eyes and full cheeks. Pre-operation, the teenager Tally Youngblood (Joey King) initially can’t wait to be made over. As she chirps, “Becoming moldy and crinkly? That goes against everything we’ve been taught!”

The original book in the series was first optioned in 2006, at the dawn of the dystopian young adult craze, but the genre has mildewed in the years since — and the book’s early fans are now old enough to bemoan their own wrinkles.

Still, one might counter that in the years in between, cosmetic transformations became an openly acknowledged rite of passage for a class of celebutante influencers — a reality that may have occurred to the screenwriters Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor and Whit Anderson and the director Joseph McGinty Nichol, known as McG. (One could easily imagine Kris Jenner as an adviser to Laverne Cox’s imperious Dr. Cable, the leader of the lovelies.) To help woo the current generation of 11-year-olds, McG has concocted a fantastical, glossily repellent digital landscape that glows with neon and constant fireworks, causing the film to feel at once too sincere and too artificial.

King plays Tally with more conviction than the movie deserves, alongside Keith Powers and Chase Stokes as her crushes and Brianne Tju as a punkish hoverboarder who yearns to join an anti-surgery agrarian conclave whose members reach self-actualization by reading Thoreau’s “Walden.” Though viewers can’t help but notice that the rebels are also naturally telegenic.

Uglies Rated PG-13 for some violence and action, and brief strong language. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. Watch on Netflix .

Divinity Review: Soderbergh Presents a Monochrome Mindmelt

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At the end of Lois Lowry's timeless novel The Giver , the main character seems to escape his isolated community, leading him to hear music and see colors for the first time. One can't help but think back to this YA classic when seeing the new monochrome sci-fi feature Divinity , which ends on a relatively similar note — but don't worry, no spoilers here. It's certainly open-ended, along with most of the rest of Divinity , which stars Stephen Dorff as the heir to a genius inventor (Scott Bakula) who was close to creating something that would breathe youth and immortality into life, before he passes on.

His son Jaxxon (Dorff) is left with the science and — as any bratty offspring might do — uses it for his own gain and wealth. Bakula ( Behind the Candelabra, The Informant! ) has starred in several films by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh , who serves as executive producer of Divinity . That's reason enough to check out filmmaker Eddie Alcazar's experimental new project, which is now in theaters.

Vintage Experimental Cinema

The film opens on Bakula himself, his character Sterling Pierce looking right at us as he chronicles "day 3,003" of his work. He is in some sort of lab, working on mysterious creation he only hints at. Then we're transported to what seems like decades into the future, though the look of the film remains the same: dark, monochromatic, shadowy. Is it Earth, or some far-off planet inhabited for unknown reasons? Are these humans or alien humanoids? No matter the lack of clarity — we're locked in. The overall desaturated look might remind you of past indie classics like Eraserhead and more.

After some flashy opening credits, we're years into the future and finally learn what "Divinity" is referring to: It's the serum Sterling was working on, which his grown-up son Jaxxon is now advertising on TV. Want to live forever? Taking some Divinity might just do the trick. "True immortality of both body and mind," as the commercial goes. Dorff plays Jaxxon as a sort of jumpy, scatterbrained mad scientist who works all day and night. But then, disaster strikes: His home is invaded while he's in bed with his gorgeous significant other (Emily Willis), and he's taken down with a sort of retro stun gun and taken captive by two mysterious brothers (Moises Arias and Jason Genao).

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In separate, bleak-white scenes reminiscent of certain universes from the Daniels' Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once , Bella Thorne (good to see you) plays Ziva, a sort of cult-like leader of women who preaches about the dangers of the ever-popular Divinity drug in their dystopian world , a world which we later learn is plagued by a 97% infertility rate. "Divinity is the crisis," she says. Are the brothers an extension of this ideology? Is that why they kidnapped Jaxxon?

The stoic nature of the brothers might remind Breaking Bad fans of the bald twins who were also featured in Better Call Saul . After taking down Jaxxon, they hook him up to lethal amounts of Divinity via an I.V. sort of setup, which sends Jaxxon into utter panic when he awakes. "We're trying to save you," they say. How so? To reveal the truly dangerous nature of a drug that apparently makes you harder, faster, younger, stronger?

Then, enter Nikita (Karrueche Tran), who arrives at the brothers' residence for a night of intimacy but whose motives may or may not be ulterior as she soon discovers the captive Jaxxon, who's been hidden away. Writer-director Alcazar doesn't lay everything out for you explicitly, making for a thought-provoking little film, so I apologize if my takeaways on certain plot points aren't the same as what you perceive. But it seems like Nikita is hired to show the brothers a good time for the night, but once she sees the increasingly ailing Jaxxon, with endless amounts of Divinity pumping into his blood, she tries to set him free. But it's a grotesque image as Jaxxon starts to bulge in unpleasant ways and lose his mind. You'll see...

Clever Casting Makes for a Well-Rounded End Result

All the while, we see flashes of a terrifically muscular man from Jaxxon's Divinity commercial, a seemingly successful end result of the serum. His name is Rip (played to perfection by famed bodybuilder Michael O'Hearn ), and his special connection to Jaxxon is revealed later in the story. Meanwhile, Jaxxon starts hallucinating (probably thanks to his bulging forehead, as pictured above) and sees visions of his late father condemning him for his use of Sterling's invention. "You used it in the worst possible way," says Sterling to his son.

Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal in Foe (2023)

Foe Review: Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal Trapped in a Disappointing Retro-Future Drama

Garth Davis' new sci-fi feature offers a compelling turn by Aaron Pierre but little else that we haven't already seen in Black Mirror and beyond.

Eventually, Jaxxon is able to break free and seek revenge on the hotheaded brothers who reduced him to a hulking mass. It becomes a literal puppet show that might leave some viewers scratching their heads, but it's a unique vision and effort — something Alcazar calls "Metascope" — that helps feed into the somewhat absurdist nature of Divinity as a feature film. Don't knock it til you try it, as they say.

And then there's that aforementioned trippy ending involving a groundbreaking "child" birth, which will certainly leave moviegoers arguing with each other about what it all meant. For that reason and plenty of others, Divinity might just be discussed in film studies classes down the line. In a world of color, the vintage black-and-white look has resurfaced in cinema is recent years. And in this new film by Alcazar — who is also responsible for the ambitious short film The Vandal — it helps achieve the intended retro-futurist look that has also seen a resurgence on the big screen of late.

Another perk here is the clever casting, especially Dorff as the lead character, a conflicted inheritor of the magical serum. Despite his aging status in Hollywood, he's still got that youthful face that helps compliment his childlike persona as Jaxxon, reporting and crying to his dad Sterling even in death. Add to that the film's occasional 1:1 aspect ratio to shake things up, and you've got yourself a new experimental feature to sink your teeth into. Thanks to Mr. Soderbergh's trust, Divinity becomes something divine. It's not for everyone, but cinephiles need apply.

From Utopia , Divinity opens in theaters Friday, Oct. 13.

Divinity is a 2023 sci-fi mystery-thriller by director Eddie Alcazar. The film follows two brothers who kidnap a wealthy scientist in the middle of his search for immortality. Meanwhile, the scientist's son takes control of the serum-in-progress, creating a dystopian nightmare from his father's legacy.

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Steven Soderbergh

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‘The 4:30 Movie’ Review: Kevin Smith Delivers His Best Film in Years by Writing About Teenagers Instead of Grown Men Who Act Like Them

Christian zilko.

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None of Smith’s subsequent work caught that kind of lightning in a bottle, but quite a few of his early films were close enough to the original high to be watchable. “Mallrats” is a passable ’90s comedy, “Chasing Amy” is a clever character study anchored by a great Ben Affleck performance, and “Clerks 2” was a solid sequel. But for much of the 21st century, the pickings have been slim for Kevin Smith fans hoping for a renaissance. His body horror experiment “Tusk” was a great midnight movie , but it spawned the truly abysmal Nazi-sausage-centric spin-off “Yoga Hosers.” And while “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” was tolerable as fan service, “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” was unwatchable drivel. Even the long-awaited “Clerks 3” amounted to little more than a trip down memory lane.

All of which is to say that nobody would blame you for tuning out Smith’s directorial output years ago. His brand as a cultural figure remains strong thanks to an empire of podcasts and comic books that left him perfectly positioned to ride the wave of 21st century geek culture, but his movies have increasingly felt like self-contained efforts that existed only for his diehard fans.

The term “love letter to cinema” has been beaten into a pulp in recent years, and it feels pointlessly reductive to put “The 4:30 Movie” in the same category as “The Fabelmans.” (As a fan of Smith’s who thoroughly enjoyed his latest work, even I can be honest enough to say that the gap in quality between the two films is pretty much equivalent to the same gap between his career and Steven Spielberg’s.) But more than anything, “The 4:30 Movie” is a love letter to Going to The Movies. Not going to a movie, but the actual act of passing hours at a theater without much regard for the actual quality of what you were watching.

Brian David (Austin Zajur) wants nothing more than to spend one of the last days of summer with his crush Melody Barnegat (Siena Agudong). But the young Casanova’s seduction skills have not yet progressed past the “ignore a girl for three months after getting to second base at a pool party” stage. She’s a little surprised when he calls her at work and asks her to meet him at the 4:30 movie, but she agrees to try her best to be there after work. With romance in the air, this awkward teen suddenly has more than just “Return of the Jedi” to occupy his mind.

For a filmmaker who’s known for trading on vulgarity, Smith’s writing style translates shockingly well to children. That’s probably because, other than the lack of semen jokes, these kids are quite similar to all of Smith’s other protagonists. They’re unemployed, obsessed with “Star Wars,” clueless about women, and incapable of expressing feelings without wrapping them up in pop culture references. But it’s nice to see his characters behave in a developmentally appropriate way for a change. Rather than sad looks into grown men who stubbornly refuse to grow up, Smith is able to give us a cute portrait of kids who just haven’t gotten there yet.

There’s a lovely irony to the fact that after years of re-hashing “Clerks” and filling the View Askewniverse with its many side characters, Smith seems to have inadvertently re-captured some of its magic by abandoning that world altogether. “The 4:30 Movie” owes far more to John Hughes than the Richard Linklater movies that inspired Smith to make “Clerks,” but it contains its own versions of many of the elements that made that film great.

Both movies take place in a single location that Smith conveniently had access to, and both show a lifetime’s worth of excitement unfolding in one day. They both extract plenty of humor from the neuroses of those on both sides of the customer service industry and the ways that the silly tasks of a small business can seem monumentally important if your entire life revolves around them. But most of all, both films show us that Kevin Smith can make a damn good movie when he gets out of his own way. This one was worth the wait, even if we had to sit through “Yoga Hosers” to get here.

A Saban Films release, “The 4:30 Movie” opens in theaters on Friday, September 13.

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‘eden’ review: jude law leads a starry cast marooned in ron howard’s odd and off-putting survival tale.

Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas and Vanessa Kirby are among the ensemble of this true-life thriller about a 1920s German philosopher who starts a new life on an uninhabited island.

By Michael Rechtshaffen

Michael Rechtshaffen

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Civil War Isn’t the Movie You Think It Is

This review was published on April 12, 2024. As of September 13, Civil War is available to stream on Max .

Americans sure do love to see their institutions destroyed onscreen. I remember back when it was sorta-kinda news that audiences applauded and cheered as aliens blew up the White House in Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996). Since then, it’s been standard operating practice for blockbusters, particularly the disaster-y ones, to incinerate or otherwise defile a monument or an iconic government building. (We took a brief recess after 9/11 — “too soon,” etc. — but went right back to it once the cultural all-clear sounded.) Maybe because our institutions were deemed so secure and unchanging for so long, the idea that they might be ravaged by aliens, meteors, zombies, or Dylan McDermott became a naughty fantasy we were eager to see played out onscreen, over and over and over again. A variation on this kind of chaos has become all too real over the past few years, with more than 40 percent of the country in a 2022 poll saying they think a civil war is likely within the next decade. I’m not entirely convinced that the constant barrage of apocalyptic destruction on our screens is unrelated. We’ve been spectators to the fantasy for so long that we’ve come to imagine we’re participants in it.

Here’s another truth about repeatedly indulging in our fantasies: We become desensitized to them. What makes Alex Garland’s Civil War so diabolically clever is the way that it both revels in and abhors our fascination with the idea of America as a battlefield. No real monuments get done blowed up real good in this one. The spectacle this time is coyer but somehow all-consuming. What’s being incinerated in Civil War is the American idea itself.

The film is set in what appears to be the present, but in this version of the present a combination of strongman tactics and secessionist movements have fractured the United States into multiple armed, politically unspecified factions. The president (Nick Offerman) has refused to give up power and is now serving his third term; he’s dissolved the FBI, bombed American cities, and made a point of killing journalists on sight, or so we’re told. California and Texas have joined forces and become something called the Western Front. There’s also the so-called Florida Alliance. Smoke rises from the cities; the highways are filled with walls of wrecked cars; suicide bombers dive into crowds lined up for water rations; death squads, snipers, and mass graves dot the countryside.

How we got here, or what these people are fighting over, is mostly meaningless to Kirsten Dunst’s Lee and Wagner Moura’s Joel, two war journalists making the treacherous drive from New York City to Washington, D.C., for an exclusive, probably dangerous interview with the beleaguered president. Tagging along for the ride in their van are Jessie, played by Cailee Spaeny, a young, inexperienced photographer who aspires to a career like Lee’s, and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), an aging reporter who wants to go to the front lines in Charlottesville. Lee is vexed by both their presences. Jessie’s too young, and Sammy’s too old. The blood-soaked highways of the divided states of America are no place for either of them.

The journalists covering this war gather in hotel bars, get drunk, and loudly yuk it up with the jacked-up bonhomie we might recognize from movies set in foreign lands like The Killing Fields , Under Fire , and Salvador . They’re mostly numb to the horrors they’re chronicling. After the young Jessie is scarred by an early run-in with a man who threatens to shoot two unarmed, tortured, barely alive captives, Lee tells her that it’s not their job to ask questions or get involved: “We take pictures so others can ask these questions.”

One of the reasons Lee is such a legend in her field is because she has grown a protective shell around herself. She wants to get the picture. That’s it. She’s protective of Jessie but only to the extent that the girl will slow them down or upend their plans. “Would you photograph that moment, if I got shot?” Jessie asks. “What do you think?” Lee responds, as if the answer is obviously yes. But we also understand that Lee bears the psychological scars of what she’s seen. At night, alone in her bath at a hotel, she covers her eyes and revisits the horrors she’s photographed all over the world. “I thought I was sending a message home: Don’t do this,” she says of her earlier work. “But here we are.” Garland can be clunky and obvious with his dialogue, but Dunst can also make just about any line sound true. Her face tells one story, her words tell another; together, they bring this conflicted woman to life.

The film embodies Lee’s traumatized numbness to a degree. Garland knows how to build suspense, and he depicts astonishing violence with the requisite horror, but he also moves his film along in playfully provocative ways. After one ghastly sequence in which guerrillas shoot a weeping soldier, the director cuts to a montage set to De La Soul’s “Say No Go,” a song about a horrific subject that adds a peppy beat to the grisly images onscreen. (I was reminded of the way Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket cut to the Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” right after a similar firefight.)

Even the film’s episodic quality — it’s really just a ghastly travelogue through the war-torn Eastern Seaboard, with our protagonists confronted at each stop with some upsetting new incident — feels like a provocation. Part of shutting yourself off to such horrors involves being able to move past them, and Civil War , like its characters, glides past each monstrous vignette with unbothered brio. This can make the film feel weirdly weightless at times. Its characters are observers and nomads. If anything, they feel less invested in what they’re witnessing as the movie goes on.

Civil War ’s lack of a political point of view, as well as its refusal to really identify the positions of its warring parties, has come in for some understandable criticism. But does any sane person really want a version of this film that attempts to spell out these people’s politics or, even worse, takes sides in its fictional conflict? (That sounds like it would be the worst movie ever made.) Garland does include flashes of real news footage from a variety of recent American disturbances, but he’s clearly done more research into media depictions of other countries’ war zones.

This is maybe his best idea, and why the film’s lack of political context feels more pointed than spineless: The conceit here is to depict Americans acting the way we’ve seen people act in other international conflicts, be it Vietnam or Lebanon or the former Yugoslavia or Iraq or Gaza or … well, the list goes on. In that sense, Civil War winds up becoming a movie about itself. Beyond the plausibility of war in the United States or the tragedy of such an eventuality, it’s about the way we refuse to let images from wars like this get to us. It’s more a call for reflection, an attempt to put us in the shoes of others, than a warning — not an It Can Happen Here movie, but a Here’s What It’s Like movie. It doesn’t want to make us feel so much as it wants us to ask why we don’t feel anything.

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‘Eden’ Review: Ron Howard’s Historical ‘Thriller’ Strands Us on an Island With Characters Who Grow More Dislikable by the Minute

Jude Law and Ana de Armas lead a crew of showboating misanthropes you just want to get away from.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

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‘Eden’ Review: Ron Howard’s Historical ‘Thriller’ Strands Us on an Island With Characters Who Grow More Dislikable by the Minute 5 days ago

Ron Howard has always taken pride in being an eclectic filmmaker — in the last 40 years, he has made movies about mermaids, cocoons, auto factories, astronauts, firefighters, newspapers, beautiful minds, cave rescuers, the Grinch, the Da Vinci Code, the Beatles, and Pavarotti. But at the Toronto Film Festival premiere of his latest movie, “ Eden ,” he declared that the film stands farther apart from his other work than anything he has ever done. He’s right, though not for the reason he thinks.

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So what’s at stake? That’s what Howard and his screenwriter, Noah Pink, never figured out. Early on, another couple show up, and they’re the opposite of the Ritters. Heinz Wittmer ( Daniel Brühl ) and his wife, Margaret ( Sydney Sweeney ), have come to Floreana because they’ve been following accounts of the Ritters and want to join their movement. They’ve brought along their son, Harry (Jonathan Tittel), because he has tuberculosis and they couldn’t afford to place him in a sanitarium; maybe the island air will cure him. You’d think a communal theorist like Ritter would welcome these disciples, but no — he just wants them to go away. He sets them up in the stone grotto nearby, explaining how hard is to even get fresh water on the island. He doesn’t exactly roll out the welcome shrub, and it’s not as if there’s some dramatic connection between the two couples. The interactions are downbeat and disgruntled.

Howard has said that he based “Eden” on two conflicting accounts of the events it depicts, and that’s how it plays: as a film that never locates a point of identification. We’re held at arm’s length, observing the characters as if they were part of an insect colony. We also get to observe a lot of wildlife: crabs, wild pigs, a full-frontal Jude Law.

Then a mystery player shows up — yet another island visitor, though this one has a very different agenda. Ana de Armas , the charismatic actress from “Knives Out” and “Blonde,” plays Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn, a.k.a. the baroness, a party-girl fatale who arrives with a passel of men, and with her stated intention of building a luxury hotel on the island. Is she serious? Is she really a baroness? De Armas plays her with a ripe smile of amorality and an accent that makes her sound like Madeline Kahn in “Young Frankenstein.” She acts like she’s in a ’30s drawing-room comedy, which is rather absurd, but for a while you can feel the movie come alive when she’s onscreen. The rest of the time, it keeps sinking into its sluggish morass of bad vibes (and even de Armas’s hauteur starts to wear thin).

“Eden” lopes along, without energy or purpose, but with a great deal of random showboating. Sydney Sweeney gets the film’s radiant-center-of-sanity award. Her Margaret is humble and likable, and though she has to go through a childbirth scene that’s all but designed to make us squirm, you feel something for her.

Yet as the relationships slowly disintegrate, and the film begins to turn into some weirdly madcap version of “Lord of the Flies,” we’re not sure how to take in what we’re seeing. Howard should have worked harder to ensure that the audience was invested in these people from the beginning. He seems to assume that we’ll just go along for the ride. But I can’t imagine that there’ll be much of an audience for “Eden,” a movie that makes you want to get off that island and go back to a place where the people are sane.

Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival (World premiere), Sept. 7, 2024. Running time: 129 MIN.

Production: An AGC Studios, Imagine Entertainment production. Producers: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Karen Lunder, Stuart Ford, Bill Connor, Patrick Newall. Executive producers: Noah Pink.
Crew: Director: Ron Howard. Screenplay: Noah Pink. Camera: Mathias Herndl. Editor: Matt Villa. Music: Hans Zimmer.
With: Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Ana de Armas, Daniel Brühl, Sydney Sweeney, Jonathan Tittel, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace, Richard Roxburgh.

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‘Kaalapatthar’ movie review: Vikky Varun’s film is an intriguing take on the politics of statues

In ‘kaalapatthar’, director vikky varun, who also plays the lead in the film, takes a realistic and grounded approach to a heavy subject of building statues and the intentions behind it.

Updated - September 13, 2024 06:03 pm IST

Vikky Varun in ‘Kaalapatthar’. | Photo Credit: A2 Films/YouTube

In a touching scene in Kaalapatthar, an old lady complains about the lack of water in her place. She gives a reality check to the village chief, who is decked up for the Independence Day celebration, ignorant of the issues faced by the people of Moodalapalya. Shankar (Vikky Varun), a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, watches the scene with a guilty face. He knows that the root cause of all the problems faced by his folks is his statue, which has become the talking point of the village.

Political leaders get slammed for building statues and distracting people’s attention from important matters. Leaders get questioned if they wish to keep a particular group of people happy by spending lakhs on statues, even as they ignore the plight of underprevileged people.

Kaalapatthar (Kannada movie)

Varun, who also has directed the film and co-written the screenplay with D Satya Prakash and Raghu Nandan, takes up this heavy subject and makes it palatable for viewers by setting the story against a rural backdrop and portraying the realities of such a milieu. Naturalistic performances and earthy dialogues enhances the film’s flavour.

In Kaalapatthar, the village chief, pressurised by the media, announces a statue of Shankara. At the same time, the MLA (Rajesh Nataranga) proudly says in a speech that he would have built a taller statue if people had discussed the plan with him. When desperate people turn to the statue seeking hope, even God turns envious as the temple priest recommends an alteration to the statue. Amid people in power plotting personal gains, the locals get denied basic facilities such as water, bus service, and proper roads.

A still from ‘Kaalapatthar’. | Photo Credit: A2 Films/YouTube

So why did the statue get erected in the first place? Shankara, who is assigned the duty of a cook at the BSF, cuts vegetables instead of firing bullets in a war. Back in his hometown, people presume him to be toiling hard on the battlefield, but Shankara gets confined to the kitchen. Everything changes when he showcases his brave side by singlehandedly fighting men from the enemy camp. Shankara becomes a nationwide sensation, so much so that his statue gets built.

Trouble begins when Shankara starts to experience the things that happen to the statue. For instance, when the statue gets soaked in rain, Shankara gets drenched as his roof leaks. When this freakish pattern repeats too often, he wonders if it is a mere coincidence, his illusion, or if there is something really fishy about it.

The film takes a delightful turn when the protagonist turns grey. A selfish Shankara does everything to protect the statue because he believes his life depends on it. A soldier, perceived as fearless, is reduced to a tepid man by a lifeless statue built with black stones ( Kaalapatthar in Hindi and hence the title ) .

ALSO READ: ‘Laughing Buddha’ movie review: A humorous, non-judgemental look at the everyday lives of police officers

The film jumps from one conflict to another without a break, and you get the feeling that it ends without a bang. The transitions in the screenplay seem too quick, giving us less time to process the twists in the movie. Yet, the film’s story, as a whole, is rock solid. And the director in Varun is in control of executing the important scenes. Anoop Seelin deserves special credit as his stylish score with unique beats beautifully reflects the everydayness of a village.

We live in a time when powerful people build their own statues when they are alive. Kaalapatthar tries to say that even as they enjoy the attention and accolades, they must not forget their duties. Statues must be an expression of respect and not an excuse to exploit the innocent, says the film.

Kaalapatthar is currently running in theatres

Published - September 13, 2024 05:33 pm IST

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