What's it about?
The film is set around a young girl who is only known as Daughter and Mother a robot that has raised Daughter with the objective to repopulate the damaged earth. An extinction event has wiped out all humans but when a stranger arrives, questions begin to arise that challenge the bond between mother and daughter, robot and human.
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What do I like?
The performance from both Clara Rugaard (Daughter) and Hillary Swank (Woman) was solid, Clara, in particular, was able to anchor the film with her range of emotions and dialogue.
Certain scenes in the film were able to provide good tension and kept me engaged. The use of the corridors, the colours within the sealed bunker, the use of empty space and lighting are used to full effect.
The film was also able to keep the viewer guessing, what to believe, who to believe and each character's goals. Were there any deeper or hidden motives? The conflict that the daughter went through, who to trust and why was well scripted. But this leads on to what I didn't like about the film.
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What don’t I like?
Questions were raised that were then never answered. Ones that would only further develop the film, add more depth and back story to the characters.
Mother
There were countless opportunities to explore further why Mother did what she did, what did mother know and her true motivations. None were really flushed out and due to this, her character felt underdeveloped. The final scene where she was willing to let daughter "kill her" and let her take control had a lesser impact on me because so many of the questions surrounding her were left unanswered prior to this point.
Who made her and why? Where are they now? She killed two previous daughters for failing her test why? She lied about having no memory before the bunker...why?
For example, when a daughter finds out and confronts mother because she killed two previous Daughters what do we get? Nothing, there is no explanation, all we know is that they failed her test. The question of why the test is so important and what makes her believe that passing this test will make a better human is left unanswered. The discovery without the reason, cause or motivation weakens her character development.
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The Woman
The same can be said to a lesser extent for the Stanger. Why did the Stanger lie? Why did she leave the mines? Who shot her and why? What was her story? What happened to humanity? Any of these could have easily developed her character and help the film grow.
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Easter Egg
Near the beginning of the film, we get a counter showing how many days it has been since the extinction event, the count is 13867 days which in years is almost forty. Initially, I thought that was strange as Daughter looked to be twenty years old at most. However, the reveal of the two preceding daughters later in the film add the rest of the days which presents a haunting Easter egg. There is also a suggestion that the Woman is the first Daughter which is fascinating.
Conclusion
I Am Mother was able to deliver up to a certain point, I like the ambition and ideas running throughout the film. At times it was able to capture the claustrophobic and isolated atmosphere of Alien, Oblivion and 10 Cloverfield Lane. Unfortunately, it raised too many fundamental questions and didn’t provide enough answers.
Score - 7/10
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