Love Me

Love Me is one of those great movies that refuses to leave your brain. It raises so many interesting questions and answers none of them. You end up thinking about the concepts long after you see the movie.

So I give the movie two reviews.

UPON FIRST WATCHING: 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠 (5/10) Interesting, but kinda weak... Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun are really good, but just where was this story going, and did it get there, and do we care?

AFTER 24 HOURS: 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠 (10/10) One of the most intriguing, thought provoking, emotionally exciting science fiction movies ever written!! Can AI evolve? Will individual devices become independent thinking beings?

And, with all of the wisdom, the writings, the creations, of the entire human civilization, would AI really use social media from which to learn? And, OMG, is that where future generations of people will learn about humanity?

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ **Hauntingly Beautiful, Though Not As Tragic As It Could Be**

*Love Me*, starring the always captivating Kristen Stewart and the incredibly nuanced Steven Yeun, is a visually mesmerizing and emotionally intriguing film. The performances alone are worth the full five stars-both actors deliver deeply layered portrayals that linger long after the credits roll. Their chemistry is haunting and intimate, carrying the film even through its slower or more ambiguous moments.

That said, the story itself felt a bit mediocre. I found myself wishing it had leaned harder into tragedy-there were so many opportunities for deeper emotional devastation that the film seemed to pull back from. With a concept this bold and actors this talented, a more tragic arc could have elevated it from memorable to unforgettable.

Still, *Love Me* is an experience. It's strange, slow-burning, and laced with melancholy-just not quite as heart-wrenching as I hoped.

This film wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. It was Definitley super weird and some things (technically speaking) didn't make a whole lot of sense. BUT I think it's one of the most creative films I've seen in a long time. It says a lot of things, and I would argue it does a good job of saying them. It has some hard hitting messages about self and how we fit into relationships as people, messages I've never seen on screen before. That to me is what makes great art, an expression of something I've never even thought to say. Yet it's relatable, human and we all feel it. This film is super strange, and different, but I enjoyed what it has to say and its method of saying it was very interesting to say the least.

Granted I watched this tired on an airplane- so maybe I'm crazy. All these negative reviews are surprising me and making me doubt myself.

After an apocalyptic event, a buoy designed to record water temperature (Kristen Stewart) and a communications satellite (Steven Yeun) are the only sentient beings left on earth. In the opening of "Love Me," they make contact through what remains of the internet. The two start out chatting, relying on their existing programming. Eventually, they create primitive avatars that interact in a world they've created. Both really want this relationship to work. They scan available data sources to discover what it takes to create and sustain a relationship. In a tragic development, Stewart's character, who imaginatively identifies herself as "Me," comes across a too-cute self-absorbed vlogger named Deja, whose relationship with boyfriend Liam is hardly a role model for anything constructive. Fortunately, Yeun's character, called "Iam" (see what they did there?!), isn't into over-sharing.

"Love Me" is the feature film debut for Co-Writers/Co-Directors Sam and Andrew Zuchero, a husband and wife team. For this film, they've obviously developed a bold, audacious and completely unique concept. I wish the ideas here were more fully developed.

It's more than a little ironic that "Love Me," a film so decidedly out-of-the-box, brings to mind so many other works. In its creation and execution, "Love Me" reminds me a little of "Wall-E." In its exploration of what it means to be human, it evokes "The Creator" and "After Yang." The "New York Times" points out that "Love Me" is superficially similar to another current show, the Broadway musical "Maybe Happy Ending." (Full disclosure: my nephew co-wrote the musical.) But while the musical is tightly focused on a couple of key themes - love, death, the risks/rewards of relationships - "Love Me" is all over the place.

This film has a dizzying array of ideas spinning around in its orbit. Perhaps it's just too much, because it fails to explore anything fully. That's too bad, because some of the ideas in "Love Me" show real promise. The film implies that looking to TikTok for relationship advice may not be the best option. Fair point. It clearly supports the notion that before developing a healthy bond with another, one must do the hard work of gaining self-respect and a sense of self-worth. Terrific. "Love Me" also does an excellent job depicting the palpable need for connection with others that occurs when these inanimate objects meet. Inspired. But the film does nothing to excavate these ideas in ways that offer greater depth or a new point of view. As a result, the final product is surprisingly soulless. While I was intrigued to see how this story unfolded, I had no emotional investment in what happened between these two characters.

There are, however, some funny moments. Apparently, the story takes place over six billion years (or 6000 years, if you're a Young Earth Creationist). At one point, Me and Iam become estranged because the buoy sinks and the signal is lost. The two have to wait a few eons for all the water on earth to evaporate so connection can be restored. As they work to rekindle the relationship, Iam observes that he's had several million years to reflect on what's gone wrong in the past and what he really needs in a relationship.

Ultimately, "Love Me" is a wonderful concept that's never fully realized. Although some elements of the film don't work, it's an exhilarating diversion from the steady diet of slasher films and superhero movies Hollywood is force-feeding us. More Zucheros, please!

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

With a really interesting concept, the movie offers some genuinely interesting concepts and ideas, yet, feels a little messy. The filmmakers clearly have a creative concept about the approach of love relationships and technology. To which the narrative, while does get a little unfocused on some of the themes and structures, does provide some interesting components to engage with. The performances from Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun are really good as Stewart and Yeun have really good chemistry between one another.

There are some good uses of computer effects, editing style and color presentations. There are uses of animation throughout and honestly, the animation looks fine but it does feel like something from a cheap mobile app design which was a little distracting. There are some good dialogue moments but some moments feeling a little too fake. Some of the editing choices were a little annoying.

For sure, the movie is definitely creative and while I wished the movie was a little more focused on some of the themes and certain aspects did feel too slow, I still was invested because of Stewart and Yeun's strong chemistry and the filmmakers being able to create something that is different.