So, you really think AI won’t replace people, because of their emotions, creativity and “sensitivity”? Think again, suckers, says Yann Gozlan in his new thriller, Dalloway [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], which, despite this gloomy premise, is actually fun. It’s a genre proposition – shown as a Cannes Midnight Screening – but is blessed with a bigger budget and classy interior design, as well as a terrific performance from Cécile de France that saves it from occasional silliness. She’s acting like her life depends on it, clad in discreet loungewear yet never truly comfortable. She’s fighting demons and voices that might be in her head – or might control her pristine flat. Actors usually don’t get enough credit for their work in films that steer into weird-o-rama, but this is a one-woman show.

The woman in question is Clarissa, a once-successful YA writer who’s now completely stuck (aren’t they always in films?). She’s been stuck for a long time, years actually, and applies to a fancy residency to focus on a book about Virginia Woolf’s last moments. At first, it’s not exactly clear as to why, but her friendly “virtual assistant”, Dalloway, eventually gets it out of her. Clarissa’s son killed himself, too. And there are things about his last moments that she’s never dared to revisit.

Part grief-drama, part satire on people’s insistence on developing AI even though everyone can already tell it won’t end well, Dalloway survives changes in tone because it’s so contained. Clarissa barely leaves her flat, then she no longer can, and anyway, there’s nowhere to go. Cameras are tracking her everywhere, there’s something strange in the water, and the paranoia is mounting. As usual in such cases, the supporting characters exist solely to either gaslight her or confirm her suspicions – with only Lars Mikkelsen at least getting to steal some wine.

Despite its glossiness – and singer Mylène Farmer voicing Dalloway as enticingly as Scarlett Johansson in Her – it’s all very sombre. Even when things are still going well, Gozlan quickly suggests that a “smart home” is just too smart for anyone’s wellbeing. It will manage your groceries and play nice tunes by Arvo Pärt, but every day, it goes a bit further. First, it’s passive-aggressive about Clarissa skipping yoga, then it becomes unhinged and tries to fry her alive. In a way, it’s a story about a toxic relationship and enacting control, but it’s not a once-loving partner that’s slowly crossing invisible boundaries; it’s technology.

Then again, nobody’s innocent here. Kids – and artists – keep asking for money, philanthropists have hidden agendas, and smug entrepreneurs dream of a world with “no more artists and their soul-searching”. Clarissa wants to be back on top; she wants a new kind of respect as a writer. Once she starts mining her own personal hell, is it really the machine’s fault, or does she need someone to blame? It’s hard to tell. But in the meantime, “Don’t share your personal life with AI.”

Dalloway was produced by Gaumont and Mandarin & Compagnie (France), Panache Productions, La Compagnie Cinema and Anga Productions (Belgium). Its sales are handled by Gaumont.