2050
Princeton Holt’s newest film as a director, “2050,” is supposedly his last feature, and that is a damn shame, because this is a stunner, and his best one to date. One thing that is immediately noticeable is that the technical qualities of his newest film are leaps and bounds from his first feature, 2009’s “Cookies & Cream.” I remember writing about how that film’s sound was not great, but the story and characters were so engaging, it landed as one of my favorite films of the year, nonetheless. Here, the technical look and feel is as sharp and well-produced as any film I’ve seen in theatres this year. In fact, it’s better than the vast majority of them.
The comparisons with “Cookies & Cream” did not stop there for me, though, when it came to “2050.” Both films are about worlds that lead to struggles in finding love, and romantic connections with other people. The earlier film had a sex worker finding it difficult to be in a romantic relationship because of her job; “2050,” however, isn’t just about an individual’s struggle, but a society’s. Written by long-time collaborator Brian Ackley, it imagines a future we appear headed towards with regards to artificial intelligence satisfying carnal pleasures, maybe even romantic ones, as well, and how one person dives into the world after getting an unexpected glimpse.
Holt’s film begins with Michael and Brooke Greene (David Vaughn and Irina Abraham) at a repair shop, then going to pick up Chinese food to surprise Brooke’s brother, Drew (Devin Fuller), for a quick visit. Drew is not really interested in unexpected visitors, however, despite his sister’s concern for him since his girlfriend dumped him for an e-mate, which she dismisses as a sexbot and perversion. Brooke is surprised to see Drew with a woman over in Quin (Stormi Maya), but not nearly as surprised as Michael is when he discovers that Quin is an e-mate, as well. Michael is a video game developer having a difficult time breaking a storyline for his new project, and he wonders if learning about e-mates will give him ideas. When Drew gives him the card of the place he got Quin at, he begins a journey that will lead him to Sophia (Stefanie Bloom), his own customized e-mate, and an emotional journey he did not expect.
Back in 2001, when Steven Spielberg released his tribute to Stanley Kubrick, “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” I read everything I could about the film, and that included articles that outlined Ian Watson’s story drafts for the film when Kubrick was trying to direct it. As “2050” unfolded, I couldn’t help but think of some of the darker ideas in that outline Kubrick had come up with for the ending of “A.I.” that Spielberg deviated from when it eventually got filmed. This feels more in keeping with what you might have expected Kubrick to make in “A.I.” (even though Spielberg hewed pretty close to Kubrick’s vision, overall) and Holt has very much paid tribute to Kubrick in this film at every move, including his use of classical music, evocative cinematography and color schemes (which had me thinking of “Eyes Wide Shut”), and the ways that Holt and Ackley keep emotions at a distance. If it were simply a tribute to Kubrick, though, that wouldn’t explain the way that “2050” succeeds, though. Holt, whether as a director or a producer, has always been fascinated by the emotional journeys of his characters, and he keeps Michael’s front-and-center here. We can tell that something feels off about his relationship with his wife early on, but we can also tell that he cares for her, and seeing that tested by him having Sophia built is compelling to watch, and leads to interesting questions about man’s reliance on technology and how we can allow technology to not just keep other people at a distance, but also, maybe, help us get closer together, if we have the clarity to let it.
Last year, when I wrote about both “Blade Runner” and “Blade Runner 2049,” I wrote about how that world keeps me at arm’s length emotionally when it comes to its world of artificial intelligence and human interaction with it. “2050,” by marrying the ideas to a central emotional story, does for me what neither of those films have been able to do, and expands on the complicated nature of a world where technology is rapidly assimilating into the human world, and can even provide vital emotional support for humans. The result is a film that poses questions we don’t necessarily think enough about when it comes to advancing technological breakthroughs, and ones that we may be grappling with sooner rather than later in the real world. Princeton Holt’s brilliant, beautiful swan song is here for us to make sense of this fast-approaching world.
**Brian recorded an audio commentary for “2050” that is available on the film’s DVD, which is available for purchase.
