KIMI

Zoe Kravitz stars as Angela Childs, an agoraphobic woman who works for a Seattle based tech company called Kimi. They are similar in nature to Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri; however, the difference lies in Kimi having real humans interpret and improve their software by listening to recorded requests, unlike Alexa and Siri that rely soley on algorithms. Angela is one of these workers and one day, she hears a woman's frantic cry and believing a crime has been committed, becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. Angela's agoraphobia was brought on by a prior sexual assault, so the viewer can understand why she so easily becomes invested in this case. She also is OCD, brushing her teeth multiple times per day, continuously cleaning her bed sheets and hands. This was all before the lockdowns and once Covid happened, her issues have only gotten worse, refusing to go outside at all costs. However, in order to discover the truth, she has to overcome her mental problems, leave her apartment, and investigate. Kravitz is passable as Angela and the beginning of the film plays very much like REAR WINDOW, being cooped up inside all day and neighbor watching. The story does enough within the first 30 minutes to connect and sympathize with Angela and also hook you into the story. However, once she leaves the apartment, the engagement I had flew apart. Trying to be silenced by her company for fear of this getting out, she's on the run from hired hitmen. I do applaud the efforts of the writers for really giving Angela depth, as well putting a spotlight on mental health issues (and in this case, how some of them originate). Wonderful use of sound as well by director Steven Soderbergh where the audio goes silent everytime Angela puts on her headphones until she plays something, and then immediately the noise of the street comes roaring back upon being taken off. A film that started out with some promise, but ultimately, didn't deliver in the end. 5.5/10