KLARA AND THE SUN Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Taika Waititi
Stars: Jenny Ortega, Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Rachel House, Steve Buscemi, Aran Murphy.
There have been a number of films recently that have used the plot device of AI friends and robot companions, although in most of them the robot companion turns homicidal. Thankfully that is not the case in this misfire from New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi the superb Hunt For The Wilderpeople, etc).
Set in a not-too-distant future this mix of coming-of-age comedy, family drama and dystopian sci-fi drama is based on the 2021 novel written by Nobel prize winning author Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains Of The Day, etc). Klara And The Sun has been adapted for the screen by Emmy award winning television writer Dahvi Waller (Mad Men, etc) and Waititi, who also directs. The film tackles some universal themes including love, loss, grief, family, friendship, class, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering and what it means to be human.
Jenny Ortega (best known for playing Wednesday Addams in the television spin-off from The Addams Family) plays the titular Klara, an obsolete companion robot at the discounted Friend Store who desperately wants to be adopted by a human family. She is constantly upbeat, and believes that she exists only to become the perfect artificial friend for a lonely child. Klara is eventually chosen to become a companion to a teenager named Josie (Mia Tharia, from tv series Phoenix Rise, etc), despite the objections of her mother Chrissie (Amy Adams) who is not impressed that Klara is a discontinued model.
Klara is boxed up and taken home with Josie and slowly begins to ingratiate herself into the household. However, she is not exactly welcomed by the surly housekeeper Melanie (Rachel House), who is suspicious that Klara has been engaged to replace her.
A strong bond develops between Klara and Josie who is a brilliant and gifted teenaged prodigy, whose abilities have been enhanced by a revolutionary form of gene therapy. But it is clear that Josie’s health is also deteriorating. Klara believes that the sun is a God that can grant wishes, and she sets out to try and convince the sun to cure Josie.
Klara tries to navigate her way through this strange and unfamiliar new world. She also wants to destroy the smoke belching automatic harvester that patrols the nearby wheatfields. She also encounters an android working as a scarecrow in the wheatfield and meets Josie’s wannabe friend Rick (Aran Murphy, from the HBO series War, etc) who builds robot birds.
Chrissie meanwhile is also unsuccessfully coping with her own past trauma – the death of her second child Sal and her husband’s subsequent abandonment.
Ortega brings a perky energy, sweet nature, childlike curiosity and boundless optimism to her performance as Klara, and her often naïve attitude and her big curious and expressive eyes help ground the film. She also brings some physical comedy to the opening scenes of the film. Thalia brings a nice vulnerability to her role as the sickly Josie. Largely cast against type here Adams is cold and aloof as Chrissie. And Steve Buscemi brings a slightly sinister edge to his performance as Capaldi, a scientist who is working with Chrissie to try and ensure Josie’s long life. And Natasha Lyonne provides some comic relief with her performance as the store manager.
But Waititi’s off kilter comic sensibilities make for a tonally uneven film given the darker nature of the material, especially in the second half, and his injections of humour clash with the existential concerns of Ishiguro’s novel. The film also tends to become a bit maudlin and saccharine. This is a very busy film, and not all the plot elements work. There is also a rather bizarre scene about midway through the film that jars; it centres around an “interaction party” organised by Chrissie so Josie can interact with a number of other gifted children, but they bully Josie and Rick.
However, Klara And The Sun is visually quite stunning thanks to the glorious cinematography from Mike Berlucci. Ra Vincent’s production design is great.
★★★
