Although I have not yet written my reviews for the fifth season of Black Mirror, I did conclude that Charlie Brooker can no longer achieve the same high level of previous seasons. The dark twists I am expecting are no longer present and elements from earlier episodes were used again, such as placing a consciousness in another object. At the start of I Am Mother, I immediately realized that the concept of this Netflix movie as a basis could fit well with Black Mirror.
The world is no longer a safe place and in an empty underground complex a single robot ensures that one of thousands of stored fetuses continues its development and is eventually born. It is Daughter (Clara Rugaard) who is raised by this robot, which she calls Mother. She learns a lot and would like to know what it looks like outside, but that is too dangerous because of the substances in the air. When Daughter is a teenager, she comes into contact with someone from outside. It is a life-changing encounter with major consequences.
I Am Mother is a great science fiction film in which Clara Rugaard manages to anker the movie with her role. She is (together with the robot, which also has an actor inside) mostly on screen alone, so almost everything is based on her performance. Fortunately, it’s good and just like Saoirse Ronan in Hanna, her character is curious about the real world, she wants to see more than what she has read about. I would like to see the concept of a baby being raised by a robot in a Black Mirror episode, but then in a normal society. That could lead to interesting questions. I Am Mother is an atmospheric title, where you wonder yourself, just like Daughter, who you should believe. Tension at its best.
[score8]