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  • Entertainment - Movie Reviews
  • Updated: March 24, 2022

'Kimi' Review: Steven Soderbergh, Zoe Kravitz Make A Slow But Worthy Sci-Fi Thriller

'Kimi' Review: Steven Soderbergh, Zoe Kravitz Make A Slow Bu

Steven Soderbergh's sci-fi thriller takes its time getting to its destination but when it does, it achieves what it sets out to. Lead star Zoe Kravitz draws you in with a convincing performance and it's thanks to her that Kimi is worth seeing.

I had no prior knowledge of this film and didn't watch the trailer. I've known Kravitz as one of Hollywood's young talents and her performance here shows she isn't fading anytime soon.

Director Steven Soderbergh knows how to draw the viewer into the world he has created; here we see that Angela is a loner who hardly ventures out. 

Apart from satisfying her sexual urges with her neighbour once in a while, Angela sees no reason why she has to associate with people as her best friend seems to be Kimi, the A.I. system installed in her apartment.

The protagonist's mundane existence takes a most interesting turn when she hears a recording of what seems to be premeditated murder.

Disturbed, Angela contacts someone high up the chain of command and sets up a meeting only to find out that whoever is involved has his tentacles in the company and will stop at nothing to silence her.

Zoe Kravitz in KIMI

From the confines of her solitary confinement to the streets of Seattle, the heroine must fight to stay alive and expose the truth the corporation is so intent on burying.

Kravitz's acting skills and Soderbergh's masterful storytelling make Kimi push past its uninteresting beginning to get the viewer enraptured in its conflict, all the way through to its climax.

I was awed by the attention to detail employed by the director; the sound editing is pitch-perfect and the way the scenes where Angela navigates her computer is portrayed just pulls the viewer into her tech world.

As the imperfect and anti-social heroine, Angela's agoraphobia is vividly portrayed by the lead actress whose diminutive size belies the immense talent within.

Her strained relationship with her mother, constant fling with one of her neighbours, and insecurities are things that Soderbergh takes his time fleshing out way before things get kicked into high gear.

The fight-or-flight scenes are well-filmed (no shaky cams, thank God!) and when Angela fights to free herself from the clutches of one of the henchmen, the viewer bears witness to the fear in her eyes; a testament to commendable commitment on the part of Kravitz.

Let me also mention that Home Alone star Devin Ratray appears as one of Angela's neighbours and a scene where he gives an apparent nod to the comedy classic left a huge smile on my face.

We still have a lot of films to see this year but for me, Kimi is one of those positive surprises I never bargained for.

Knowing Soderbergh's knack for making the uninteresting appealing and Kravitz's skills as a thespian, I should have known that this was going to be a pleasant surprise.

Rating: 7/10.

 

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