Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *
Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Elena Kampouris, Doran Bell, Agam Darshi, Alix Villaret, Fletcher Donovan, Sara Sampaio, Rachelle Goulding, Caitlin Stryker, C.J. Perry Barnyashev, Claire Friesen, Stephen Lobo, Sean Yves Lessard, Sari Mercer, Chezca Vega, Bradley Stryker, Stuart James, Steve Weller, Miranda Edwards.
A.I. is the technology to which will arguably divide people’s opinions more than almost anything in the very near future; and whilst the full implication is not yet realised on how we accommodate the rise of the machine in daily life, whether it will aid us or hinder, be a positive or herald the destruction of humanity as we perceive it, can no longer be swept aside as a discussion.
No matter what side you fall upon, the truth is at some point the belief of rights will come to pass, and in a world where we can barely get our heads around the question of gender, the rights of each and every human on the planet, the animals and creatures in our care, how on earth do we see artificial intelligence adding to the discourse without causing a revolution of disparity and inequality.
Wifelike takes those questions and adds its own nods to films such as The Stepford Wives and to a lesser extent Blade Runner and offers an observation that is currently dividing the gender critical question, a noble and right cause, and yet one that feels as plastic as the I.A machines that are duplicating the women are made of.
A noble premise, unfortunately delivered with a stiffness unbecoming a heavily involved drama, and with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Elena Kampouris in the respective leads, the film should have been one that truly got under the skin of the debate, instead it comes across as a mid-weight, low impact conversation piece, one that sits between courses at a dinner party before the final topic of the night comes to bear fruit.
Wifelike is an opportunity missed, the prospect to explore the female mind in relation to how I.A. affects the very institution and progress they fought valiantly and rightly for, and how the future is not just about the artificial, but flesh and blood, about humanity.
An average film, one that failed to live up to a loftier goal.
Ian D. Hall