TL;DR – Companion is a film full of juxtapositions, hilarious and incredibly violent, fascinating yet also profoundly exploitative, and a fascinating romp even when it is trying to plum the depths of human depravity.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – This film contains scenes that may cause distress.

Companion Review –

Today, we look at a film that is fundamentally ambitious with the themes and tone that it wants to set. A Dark Comedy that is also exploring the world of manipulation, power, control, and personhood. All significant themes in their own right, and the question then becomes: can you do them all justice in 90-minute runtime and a shoestring budget?  

So, to set the scene, Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) have the perfect meet/cute story: they randomly bumped into each other in a grocery store, and Josh was so awkward that he accidentally knocked over a whole table full of oranges. It could have been a moment of disaster, but they found love in that odd place. It was such a decisive moment that Iris listed it as the only time that she moved out of her benign world and into something more profound. Oh, well and that one other time, the day she killed Josh.  

Companion is a fascinating film, in just how much it got down on a shoestring budget. It is so tiny that it makes me wonder if they borrowed the house, which is the primary setting of the film, from a friend. Those constraints give the film a kind of scrappy feel that permeates throughout the proceedings. At the cornerstone of the entire narrative is the relationship between Iris and Josh, and on that front, both Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid knock it out of the park. Their rapport throughout the film is always enjoyable, especially as these very charismatic actors play off-type roles in certain places.

While they reveal the twist quite early in the film, out of an abundance of caution, I will point out that there will be [SPOILERS] for the rest of this review. What shifts this narrative from the standard romantic comedy to a dark comedy is not the murders, though, to be fair, that helps. It is the setup that Iris is not human but a domestic android that takes care of Josh’s “personal needs”, among other things. However, Iris is not aware she is a robot; she thinks that she is a real person. That dichotomy of power would be problematic if the narrative just stayed there, but the narrative is not content to rest on its laurels. It is ready to dive completely into the deep end of all the ethical implications.

What we get is a story all about the shifting nature of power in the relationship as different characters try to survive or even thrive in the wake of so much blood. It is in these moments that the film hits the high-water mark in both its bleakness and its more humorous undertones. This feels like a dichotomy that should not work, and to be fair, at times, it doesn’t. However, when it nails those moments of tension, you end up being on the edge of your seat. I will say that some plot points clearly took the audience that I was watching it with off-guard, but I saw coming a mile away [and if you have watched anything in this genre you will too], but I kind of wished I had been in that first group, but alas.      

While it explores some significant themes, and the space around artificial life gives you the scope to attack it from an interesting angle. I do need to be clear that not every part of the film landed. I wish it had been a little more explicit about the incel tones that surround one of the characters, as you could feel the movie just holding off from committing in places and preferring just to wink at it. Also, in between all the humorously shocking jump cuts and wanton violence, there were times when it felt like Sophie Thatcher needed to be supported by more female voices behind the scenes. There were some moments when people walked out of my screening, and I entirely understand why they did.  

In the end, do we recommend Companion? Look, this is a very dark yet also quite humorous film. That combination is not going to be for everyone, and I am not sure if that combination will be for a lot of people. While not every moment landed, I do think the film made some strong points that the actors took and ran with. Creating what was a fundamentally fascinating film to watch. Have you watched Companion? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Companion, we would recommend to you A Simple Favor or M3GAN.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Companion
Directed by – Drew Hancock
Written by – Drew Hancock
Music by – Hrishikesh Hirway
Cinematography by – Eli Born
Edited by – Brett W. Bachman & Josh Ethier
Production/Distribution Companies – New Line Cinema, BoulderLight Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, Universal Pictures & Warner Bros Pictures.
Starring – Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, Rupert Friend, Marc Menchaca, Jaboukie Young-White & Woody Fu
Rating – Australia: na; Canada: 14A; Germany: 16; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: na; United States: R