We all yearn for perfection in some form or the other – whether it is related to ourselves or someone else close to us, there is something very appealing about the prospect of meeting the ideal, regardless of the cost or consequences. In his ambitious directorial debut, Drew Hancock uses it as the foundation for Companion, in which he tells the story of Iris, a charming and mild-mannered young woman with a seemingly perfect life. Her boyfriend Josh is a lovable, attentive partner with good friends and a solid personality with which she immediately connects. However, she soon comes to a stark realisation – she’s a robot, designed by a company that creates androids using artificial intelligence to act as companions to lonely individuals who crave partners, but don’t have the skills or willingness to find one in real life. This epiphany emerges at a particularly challenging moment, which causes Iris to be plunged into a state of existential crisis – but resourceful and more intelligent than anyone is willing to give her credit for, she finds a way to outsmart her human peers, leading to a series of chaotic events in which she proves that sometimes the invention is far more capable than their creators. A very bold and often quite innovative blend of dark comedy, science fiction, psychological horror and romantic thriller, Companion is quite a daring achievement, a film handcrafted by a director with a singular vision, an abundance of talent and the willingness to take many risks, all of which are seamlessly woven into the fabric of this film, a daring and provocative satire that is as compelling as it is complex, while never sacrificing its desire to be a wholeheartedly entertaining, captivating experience that touches on themes to which many of us may unexpectedly relate.

Genre films that act as covert vehicles for deeper and more provocative themes that relate to our society and culture are not a novel concept, and we often see tremendously compelling satires that contain quite complex ideas produced throughout history. Science fiction has always had a firm grasp on society and its quirks, mainly because a good work of speculative fiction has to contain some degree of self-awareness and knowledge of its audience, or else its core ideas will simply fail to register. Companion joins a long lineage of tremendously entertaining films that use its genre as a means to examine society through a more robust, engaging lens. The themes that Hancock chooses to explore here are quite simple – the male gaze and its relation to centuries of patriarchal values have become a contentious issue over the past half-century, and have particularly become more notable in recent decades, as more stories about the conflicts between men and women over the former’s belief in their superiority, and society’s tendency to default to taking the side of masculinity being a cultural epidemic that consistently needs to be challenged. It’s not the first example of this idea being put into practice – Ira Levin wrote about it exceptionally in The Stepford Wives, a novel that served as something of an inspiration for this film, particularly in how it uses the idea of the creation of the perfect woman through technology, and the aftermath when they become sentient and begin to see through the veneer that surrounds them. It takes its time to reach its core themes, and we encounter a few other interesting ideas in the meantime (the queer subtext we are presented with is very interesting, despite being quite trivial and not a main propellant for the plot), but its foundation is firm and endearing, which is exactly what we would expect from such a premise, and which Hancock ensures that we understand throughout this film.

Categorising a film like Companion can be challenging, but a big part of its success comes in how it evades being pinpointed to a particular genre, and instead acts as an amalgamation of several different ideas, borrowing liberally from films scattered across film history. To facilitate this more laissez-faire approach to storytelling, Hancock employs a strong cast consisting of some recognisable actors, all of whom come together to realise the offbeat premise, which is primarily defined by its characters. It’s not often that we find someone who we can proclaim a generational talent after only seeing a couple of performances, but Sophie Thatcher has certain qualities that immediately qualify her as a contender for one of the most promising young actors of her generation. Her unique style of performance, combined with her incredible versatility, fascinating physicality and genuine talent, are all signs of her brilliance, and why she is steadily on the rise in terms of becoming a major future star. Jack Quaid is also quite good, playing the film’s primary villain, and like any great antagonist, he and Hancock realise that the key to being despicable is to create a character who genuinely believes they are good, to the point where they fail to even be aware of their clear shortcomings and misdeeds. The back-and-forth between Quaid and Thatcher is incredible and serves as the core of the film. Supporting performances from Lukas Gage, Harvey Guillén, and Rupert Friend also anchor the film and provide it with some much-needed levity for the first two acts, before these seemingly trivial supporting players become much more important during its climactic moments. As a whole, Companion is well-cast, choosing actors that can handle the more unwieldy ideas with grace, wit and dedication.

Considering the extent to which Companion is steeped in some very dense contemporary discourse surrounding gender dynamics and the disdain for patriarchal values, the precise execution was going to be the deciding factor between whether the film succeeds beautifully or fails miserably. From the start, Hancock makes it quite clear that he intends to define this as primarily a comedy – this isn’t merely a science fiction horror film in which brief touches of humour are elegantly placed to break the monotony and add some levity to the proceedings. Instead, it’s a very funny film that understands its position as a potentially provocative satire, which it certainly does not take lightly at all. The core of the narrative is built around the more absurd concept, which it chooses to embrace rather than passing itself over as some self-serious, dour statement, which can often be the most frustrating and genuinely off-putting way of conveying certain messages, especially those that have usually shown very positive results when addressed in more creative ways. However, its not merely that it is open about its use of humour as an artistic tool, but rather how it finds the balance between genres – many cogs are spinning at any given point throughout Companion, a film that takes many risks, some of which we can even consider unnecessary in the sense that they didn’t need to be present for the film to work, but they do still add value to the overall experience. It understands there are limitations to its absurdity, and it makes sure to temper the tone appropriately, allowing it to flourish into a very compelling blend of many ideas, which are tonally perfect and lend the film a lot of credence as far as addressing its underlying themes are concerned, choosing to be unconventional right up until the threshold before it becomes unrealistic.

Companion may not be the defining text on the toxic nature of the patriarchy or how it can be unnecessarily challenging to those who are simply victims of an unfair system ingrained in the social culture – but it acknowledges these limitations, and instead of thriving to be definitive, it chooses to be more entertaining, using its unconventional ideas as a tremendously compelling entry-point into a more challenging narrative. The ideas at the heart of the film are compelling, and the overall experience is a wholeheartedly positive, engaging one that takes on a massive premise, but does not intend to cover its entirety, acknowledging this is only one small chunk of a much larger systemic issue, which can only be resolved through unpacking these ideas in challenging and thought-provoking ways. It’s a fascinating film that uses its actors well, providing them with some extraordinary complexities that are seamlessly woven into the plot, which benefits from their commitment and wholehearted brilliance. Companion is not going to redefine any of its genres, but as a well-crafted combination of comedy, horror and science fiction, it becomes an unexpectedly effective social statement that reflects certain realities that are far bigger than such a film (or any) could hope to contain, but its unique ideas and exceptional execution does contribute extensively to a conversation in which we should all be engaged.