"'A.I.' Absolutely Incredible!"
by Scott Mantz

"A.I. Artificial Intelligence"
Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor
Directed by Steven Spielberg

All he needs is love! Haley Joel Osment finds himself in good company in "A.I. Artificial Intelligence"

It isn't every day that you get to watch a movie and think about how great it is while you're actually watching it. It also isn't every day that a movie keeps you guessing with each passing scene, makes you feel a wide variety of emotions, and stays with you long after you leave the theater. Well, my friends, today is your lucky day! After three long years since Steven Spielberg's last time behind the camera (with the now-classic "Saving Private Ryan"), he returns to the fore with the incredibly moving, riveting, provocative, haunting, and sublime "A.I. Artificial Intelligence."

The time is the not-too-distant future, and the population is now under the strict control of the government. When their son is cryogenically frozen until a cure can be found for his disease, Henry (Sam Robards) and Monica Swinton (Frances O'Connor) decide to "adopt" David (Haley Joel Osment)--a robot boy that has genuine feelings--to help them ease their pain. David slowly becomes a part of the Swinton's everyday lifestyle, but when their son is miraculously cured, he suddenly finds himself obsolete. David is banished to the cold, cruel world where he sets out to find the love that will complete him, but in doing so, he is horrified to discover the true purpose of his existence.

The description for "A.I." may sound remarkably similar to 1999's emotionally manipulative "Bicentennial Man" (not to mention various TV episodes of "The Twilight Zone," "The Outer Limits," and "Star Trek: The Next Generation"), but that's where it ends. The fact is, Stanley Kubrick had been toiling with "A.I." (based on Brian Adliss's short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") for more than a decade, and at one point, he even approached Steven Spielberg about directing it. With Kubrick's untimely death in 1999 after the completion of "Eyes Wide Shut," Spielberg took over, and the resulting film is essentially a Stanley Kubrick film as seen through the eyes of Steven Spielberg. Actually, it's more Kubrick than Spielberg, right down to the intense pace, the surreal symbolism, the moody music, and the dreamlike cinematography.

Kubrick made his career out of pushing a variety of hot-button issues--such as war ("Dr. Strangelove," "Full Metal Jacket"), violence ("A Clockwork Orange"), and jealousy ("Lolita," "Eyes Wide Shut")--but "A.I." would have returned him to the concept of artificial intelligence that he first explored with the HAL-9000 computer in "2001: A Space Odyssey." While that film was a marvel to behold on an intellectual level, its overall tone was too cold and detached to be engaging on an emotional level (then again, that was probably the point).

That's where Spielberg comes in. The two filmmakers actually compliment each other, with Kubrick keeping Spielberg from going over the top with his flair for sentimental schmaltziness, while Spielberg injects just the right amount of heart into Kubrick's heavy-handed material.

Since "A.I." represents Spielberg's first sole screenplay credit since writing 1977's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," it's not surprising that both movies make numerous references to Pinocchio. In "Close Encounters," not only did Richard Dreyfuss try to get his family to see the animated version of "Pinocchio," but its theme song, "When You Wish Upon a Star," was prevalent throughout the movie. With "A.I.," the comparisons are much more obvious, if for no other reason than the film is basically a futuristic version of the same story.

"A.I." is a science fiction fairy tale in every sense of the word, but it also has something to say. If the future that the film depicts is any indication, then mankind will still be inflicted with the same type of ignorance and bigotry that runs rampant in today's society. The issue: how far are we willing to go before we take responsibility for our advances in technology? On those terms, many of the later scenes in the movie--including a Klan-type rally against the "mechas" and a trip into sin city--can't help but recall the dark future that Ridley Scott envisioned in "Blade Runner."

Unfortunately, while "A.I." is an amazing film, it is not without its flaws. There's no doubt that Spielberg was successful--perhaps too successful--in his attempt to capture the essence of what a Kubrick movie is all about, but there are times when it feels uneven and contrived. As a result, the film loses steam midway through, and it turns into a different movie. As it progresses, there are a couple of times when it feels like it's going to end, but it just keeps on going. Then again, that's OK, because when it finally does end, it is unexpected and incredibly moving.

Spielberg certainly has a knack for pulling incredible performances out of kids (witness "E.T." and "Empire of the Sun"), and Haley Joel Osment is no exception. Where he was able to play off strong leads like Bruce Willis in "The Sixth Sense" and Kevin Spacey in "Pay It Forward," he holds down the fort in "A.I." He effortlessly captures the detached feel of the robot boy (take notice--he doesn't blink once!), but he's so naive, curious, and emotional that you can't help but go with him when he embarks on his incredible journey with his mechanical teddy bear.

Jude Law also puts in an incredible performance as the Gigolo Joe, the "mecha" who's on the run with Osment, and despite his relatively brief screen time, his presence stays with you for the whole movie. The same can be said about Frances O'Connor, who plays the mother who takes Osment into her home, only to realize the full extent of her responsibility when it's too late.

In true Kubrick fashion, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" isn't just a movie--it's an experience that needs to be observed, dissected, and absorbed before it can be fully appreciated and understood. It's a flawed masterpiece that will most likely haunt you for days, and as it stands in Spielberg's hands, Kubrick would have been proud. Whether or not moviegoers will like it depends upon how far down the rabbit hole they're willing to go, but the fact is, there's nothing else like it, and that alone makes it one of the best films of the year.

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