Luca Guadagnino's "Artificial" had its world premiere last night at the New York Film Festival.
This is the movie Amazon MGM decided to offload because it wasn't a good "fit" for the studio, though some wondered whether the decision had more to do with its depiction of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Regardless, Neon picked it up basically for free (it just needs to spend on marketing), and the film has now screened at NYFF.
Now, I will say at the outset that I heard very mixed things about "Artificial" after the screening ended last night. I got a few texts saying the film was downright awful, odd in tone, and flat in execution, and the Letterboxd curve, shown below, hints at a divisive film.
That said, the actual reviews from critics are not bad at all. It should be noted that there was no press screening for "Artificial" at NYFF, so critics essentially had to write their reviews right after the premiere, and they are only slowly starting to trickle in.
So far: Variety(positive), IndieWire (B-), Screen (negative), THR (positive), The Daily Beast (positive), Next Best Picture (8/10).
A common reaction describes "Artificial" as "The Social Network" for the AI era, with quite a few critics citing this as the true spiritual sequel to Fincher’s film, and not Sorkin’s upcoming ‘Social Reckoning.’ The story dives into the rise of OpenAI and the personalities behind what will surely end up being the most important tech shift of our time. Made on a reported $40M budget, it's all about clashing egos, big ideas, and the dubious ethics that come with building something this powerful, this fast.
The movie mainly follows Ilya Sutskever (played by Yura Borisov), who essentially carries the first half. He's portrayed as the idealistic, slightly naive brain of the operation, the one who truly believes in the bigger picture. As the film progresses, however, the spotlight gradually shifts to Sam Altman, played by Andrew Garfield in what seems to be a purposely over-the-top turn, and one that people seem split on. He starts off pretty grounded, but as the movie goes on, it sounds like he leans into a heightened, almost exaggerated version of Altman.
I'll update this post with more reviews as they come in. It's still too early to tell how embraced this film will be. Either you go along with its peculiar, free-form wavelength, or you don't.
A common reaction describes "Artificial" as "The Social Network" for the AI era, with quite a few critics citing this as the true spiritual sequel to Fincher’s film, and not Sorkin’s upcoming ‘Social Reckoning.’