Steven Soderbergh’s “Kimi”

Kimi (2022)

Competent enough but forgettable low-key thriller that doesn’t come anywhere near Soderbergh’s earlier work hampered by a weak script from David Koepp and bland cinematography lifted by a solid performance from Zoë Kravitz

There’s some humour to be taken in the fact that David Koepp created a television series called “Hack” which surprisingly isn’t an autobiography of the last 15 years of his screenwriting career. To be fair, this is a highlight albeit flawed but Soderbergh has some responsibility here too. Aside from Zoë Kravitz who carries much of the film, the performances on the whole are flat if not terrible and there’s a really unnecessary sex scene early on which is out of place and exploitative. It looks like it’s been filmed on a phone which you might think would make it look natural but it doesn’t feel natural and flattens the overall picture. It’s particularly unforgivable as this could easily have been improved in post production. In terms of the music, it leans on predictable needle drops which are only just bearable.

The story itself presents technology from the viewpoint of a boomer (which it is) and comes across as naive but it’s not too difficult to ignore. What’s more difficult to overlook are some of the plot holes, but the film itself is short enough to wince and let it slide. There are a few moments of suspense and the ending does do some things right. It’s okay and nothing more; a “straight to video” quality film that if you switch off your brain, you might enjoy which is a shame considering Soderbergh’s past work.