As far as premises for space exploration go, the one in Foe seems to have some flaws. Pick a guy who’s never even been on an airplane and send him to space—leaving a robot version of him in his place? This is not a space program; this is a demented psychological experiment.
At least, I hope it is, or the rest of the people in space are in trouble.
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The Jinn Bot of Shantiport
Foe is based on the novel of the same name by Iain Reid. Here’s the adaptation’s synopsis:
Hen & Junior farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior’s family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, and Aaron Pierre, Foe’s mesmerizing imagery and persistent questions about the nature of humanity (and artificial humanity) bring the not-too-distant future to luminous life.
I have questions, but they’re more along the lines of, This movie is set in 2065; has farming changed at all? Can two people run a whole farm or are there more robots offscreen? What are they farming? How did they get here? Why do they have a twin bed?
“Do you want to live mundane lives, or do you want to be part of something special and unique?” is what Aaron Pierre’s character asks. But what that means for Hen, who gets left behind despite her dreams of something bigger, the trailer doesn’t say. It’s mostly concerned with how the mere asking of questions seems to disrupt their sleepy farm existence—and with the way disappointment falls so clearly across Saoirse Ronan’s face.
Foe is directed by Garth Davis, who co-wrote the script with author Reid. It’s in theaters October 6th.
This post was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being covered here wouldn’t exist.
