Companion is a futuristic sci-fi thriller that will keep viewers guessing
by Nav Qateel
Firstly, this is a spoiler free review, and I would stress that the trailer should be avoided for maximum enjoyment of this sci-fi thriller. Perhaps not quite in the same way that learning Bruce Willis’s character was actually a “dead people,” (couldn’t help myself!) but learning the story at the same time as the characters gives the reveals extra impact. Unfortunately the poster gives one important fact away, but ultimately the characters have been so well written that you’ll soon forget, and even if you don’t you’ll think it may have been a touch of misdirection.
Set in a future where lifelike automatous robots are a thing and cars can drive via voice control, psychological thriller Companion follows a happy couple as they visit friends at a secluded luxury home. Josh (Jack Quaid) and Iris (Sophie Thatcher) meet while grocery shopping, something that we learn right at the opening of Companion, right before they arrive at the home of wealthy Russian Sergey (Rupert Friend). Bearing a mullet, bad accent and prominent facial scar, Sergey appears to be a dodgy character which is leaned into heavily by Friend where the stereotype dial is turned up to ten. Of course this is intentional as Companion is also tagged as part dark comedy.
Three other buddies are also at Sergey’s home when the couple arrive, but Iris is mainly concerned about Kat (MeganSuri), Sergey’s girlfriend, where it’s suggested that Kat doesn’t particularly like her. Rounding off the friends is couple Patrick (Lukas Gage) and Eli (Harvey Guillén), who appear to get on well with everyone. After settling into the room she and Josh will share, Iris goes down to the water where she finds Sergey taking in some rays. Previous foreshadowing alerts us that things aren’t quite right, and after an uncomfortable Iris attempts to return to her room at Sergey’s objection, the bloody fun begins.
Written and directed by Drew Hancock, Companion is a movie that covers a lot of ground, as it covers modern social issues, possible future social issues, and the main ingredients of the film being ‘greed.’ Hancock’s storytelling really shone through here, and while the characters had thankfully no useless character development, by the close of the movie with its complex tale, we knew enough about who they were and where they stood morally.
Speaking of morals, like any good yarn there are plenty of grey areas and meant that I found myself rooting for a character that would traditionally have been seen as the movie’s bad guy, and again I put this down to Hancock’s stellar script writing. Additionally, Companion was the perfect length at ninety-seven minutes, so padded character development or dialogue would have killed much of the pleasure derived from watching this film.
What’s missing from many films is having genuine reasons for characters performing certain tasks or speaking in certain ways that feel believable, but Companion has zero bloat in these areas and strongly reminds of Lynne Ramsay’s unforgiving You Were Never Really Here, a Joaquin Pheonix vehicle. Every act by Iris or Josh moves the story along, meaning no time is wasted on irrelevance.
I was surprised that this extremely entertaining film wasn’t advertised more, because this could have had a similar impact to other smaller but successful projects like It Follows by David Robert Mitchell (the follow up They Follow is currently in preproduction) for example. Companion is a difficult movie to discuss without giving anything away and spoiling things, hence the reason I’m being as vague as possible in my critique. All anyone needs to know before watching the movie is that it’s very well written, the acting is rock solid, and afterwards you’ll have lots to talk about. Companion is an absolute blast.
Nav’s Score: 9.5/10
