'Kimi' Review: Zoe Kravitz carries somewhat decent HBO Max thriller on her shoulders
Steven Soderbergh has made several movies we have enjoyed, like 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' and especially the Ocean's trilogy. 'Kimi' marks the Palme d'Or winner's third collaboration with HBO Max, after the Meryl Streep starrer 'Let Them All Talk' and the period crime thriller 'No Sudden Move.' Widely considered an influential figure in the Independent Cinema movement, Soderbergh's work has been regularly debated and analyzed by cinephiles, film critics and academics, and other directors.
With 'Kimi,' the legendary filmmaker forays into the techno-thriller genre and the film works for the most parts. Soderbergh doesn't wait for long as he discloses important information from the first shot, yanking us into the story right from the get-go. Take for example how 'Kimi' starts. We get to see the CEO of Amgydala Corporation, the parent company of the smart-speaker 'KIMI,' respond to questions put forth by a news anchor about the way the speaker functions and how it could pose a threat to the privacy of its users. We find out almost immediately that the device doesn't function entirely on artificial intelligence and that it relies on stream analysts who resolve the queries of the users when necessary. This basically means that the analyst can listen in on conversations but the CEO claims that it's done only when the device finds it difficult to understand the users' requests. The character also seems to be in some kind of trouble but we don't get enough information about it.
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The following scene introduces us to Angela Childs, a stream analyst played by Zoe Kravitz, and we're drawn into her world. Angela is an agoraphobe. She fears the outside world and can function optimally only when she's in her apartment. We see how meticulous Angela is, whether it's the way she cleans her retainers, bathes, or how she puts on her satchel. Over time, we get more details about her personal life. Be it the bond with her mother, the casual relationship that she's in, and the way she handles her therapist or her dentist. All these connections are strained and Angela can't seem to get herself to break out of the habits that are causing the strain.
Take the scene that comes right after Terry, Angela's partner, is revealed. She has sex with him but what follows shows how Angela's patterns push people away from her. There's no pillow talk or cuddling after the sex, instead, she swaps the bedsheets and pillow covers and goes about being her meticulous self. This makes Terry leave and he becomes distant after that. Angela gets back to work and this is when things begin to go south. She listens in on a stream and hears a woman screaming in the background. After removing layers of noise grains, Angela is confident that she listened to an act of violent crime. Her superiors at work, however, do not want to do anything about it because the company's coming up on an IPO. How she brings the gory incident to light and if she's able to do so form the rest of the story.
Zoe Kravitz does a wonderful job at playing Angela Childs. She portrays the vulnerability and the helplessness of the character perfectly and believably embodies agoraphobia, never exaggerating the condition. The action blocks involving Kravitz are engaging and we get some gratifying scenes of violence. Rita Wilson's appearance as Natalie Chowdhury can be considered a cameo, but she manages to add to the chaos. Special mentions to Devin Ratray, who plays Kevin, Kravitz's reclusive neighbor.
The cinematography and the background score amplify the uneasiness that Angela feels when she's in public, making us feel the same. The sound design, though minimal, works perfectly.
What makes 'Kimi' fall short of being a good techno-thriller is its pace. The 89-minute long film feels rushed at times and we don't get much clarity about the motives of the antagonists. This makes it rather difficult for us to understand what's going on and why, drawing us away from the story. 'Kimi' rests on Zoe Kravitz's shoulders and she does a great job carrying it, but a little more development could've made it a more memorable watch.
'Kimi' is currently streaming on HBO Max.