Kimi

Provocative, incredibly entertaining and stupidly efficient, Soderbergh does the best with a very simple story and concept. I love his experimental vein and, here again, the director shows that he doesn't have any problem in innovating, using different techniques.

One of the biggest pros of Kimi is that it's not afraid to feels small. It IS a small thriller. The main concept is familiar and it can be really predictable at times. It's also not afraid to feels like a TV movie sometimes, using some filming techniques that we are not used to see in cinema big productions. But Kimi is also a film with a big heart, with a very good interpretation from Zoë Kravitz and also with time for a cool, exciting and funny third act.

It doesn't develop a lot of things, but man...I even loved all the chaotic shaky camera illustrating what Angela was feeling but also what every one of us felt during COVID times. A big yes from me.

Kimi is fruitful yet incomplete. First, the story introduces interesting ideas, but doesn't follow through. Zoe Kravitz's agoraphobic protagonist leads a confined life before stumbling upon a crime recorded on a home device. From there, Kravitz attempts to expose the crime, but she's met with a bureaucratic conspiracy. This premise establishes themes of captivity, surveillance, and systemic injustice. However, these subjects don't concretely pay off. Similarly, the acting is inconsistent. Kravitz optimizes the role, yet her material is one note. She adds layers but the script lacks a clear arc, stagnating her performance. Meanwhile, her supporting cast (besides Wilson) is weak.

Beyond Kravitz, Kimi's virtue is its filmmaking. The cast, production, and effects are sparse, but craftsmanship is potent. For example, the cinematography uses varied shots and compositions to keep entertainment high and emotions palpable. In Kravitz's apartment, overheads and extreme close-ups convey importance and maintain engagement. Outside, Dutch angles, unsteady movement, and confined spacing express intense anxiety. Plus, the editing efficiently matches Kravitz's mental state, the sound symbolically reflects her perspective, and the music is oddly fitting. Soderbergh gets plenty out of this limited project. Ultimately, Kimi has merit but isn't a must-see.

Writing: 6/10 Direction: 8/10 Cinematography: 9/10 Acting: 8/10 Editing: 8/10 Sound: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack: 7/10 Production Design: 6/10 Casting: 6/10 Effects: 6/10

Overall Score: 7.2/10.

Kimi is a computer assistant similar to Alexa. Angela Childs (Zoë Kravitz) works for the company to monitor individual Kimi recordings. With her agoraphobia, she is unable to go out like going to the dentist for needed dental work. She thinks that she has discovered a crime in one of the recordings.

Director Steven Soderbergh delivers a well-made film. For the first half, I thought this was Soderbergh doing COVID filming with Kravitz doing mostly solo scenes. I wouldn't mind that. I appreciate somebody making it work and it fits the character. That's why I don't like the office section. It doesn't fit the character. She should try to go out and fail. It heightens her vulnerability if she can't leave. This could have been Soderbergh's Rear Window. As it stands, the start is a bit slow but it's a fine thriller.

I am a bit surprised that the overall rating (as of March 2022) is below 7 for this film.

I have no idea why that is because this is a good solid film.

Very much in line with Steven Soderbergh other films.

Keeping it simple. Good storytelling with thriller elements. You just know what you're getting with Soderbergh. Rounded characters, no Flash/bang CGI/visual effects to unnecessarily distract and a set of good actors in a well told story. It's like old film making techniques to tell modern stories.

It sort of reminded me of a modern version of Rear Window but with post covid lockdown as a backdrop and the use of modern information technology. It is substantially different to Rear window though.

This, I think, is the first Zoe Kravitz film I've seen. She's very good. Very believable.

What Soderbergh does, and I personally like this, is take modern topics of conversation and produces a story that weaves all that into a thriller of sorts.

He did this with "No sudden move" (corporate greed), "the Laundromat" (Panama papers), "Unsane" and "side effects" (the health sector), "High flying bird" (sport greed) and now with Kimi (data harvesting and big tech).

Sometimes he hammers home the point, but in this film, it's all laid out without being belligerent.

It's an intelligent technology based thriller (not techno thriller - which I associate with cyberpunk etc).

A great film to watch one evening. Good pacing and not too long.

There is a sexual scene in it, so if you are planning to watch it then You'll be alright if you have older teenage kids or non-prudish parents. If you can get past that, then you're onto a winner for a night's entertainment.

Thought provoking and much better than a lot of films out there right now.

Do watch if you get the chance.

65/100

Kimi doesn't do nearly as much as it could with its tech-spin premise on the conspiracy thriller, and it certainly is no untouchable masterpiece of character work. The script could have used a little more meat on its bones as it relates to character development and world building.

But what it does do is just enough. I found this film to be an extraordinarily efficient work of pacing. It's never so slow that it becomes boring; there's always something to pay attention to in every scene. And the second half of the film really becomes riveting with constant variety in location, physical threat, and power dynamics.

It's certainly a decent thriller, though it's definitely a lesser work from Steven Soderbergh.