If you recall "Skynet" from the Terminator series, the same basic idea is being used here in I Am Mother. An artificial intelligence system wages war on humanity after becoming sentient.
Unlike Terminator, where the AI system simply wants to destroy all humanity, AI in I Am Mother seeks to replace the human race with a stock of "superior" humans, raised in a bunker beginning with an assortment of frozen embryos.
The AI system is interconnected to thousands of robots guided by one in particular named "Mother" (voiced by Rose Byrne and performed by Luke Hawker).
Mother selects one embryo and in effect raises her test tube baby until she becomes a teenager called "Daughter" (with Clara Rugaard in the starring role). Director Grant Sputore cleverly creates a montage revealing just how Mother raises Daughter in this high-tech underground playpen.
It soon becomes clear that Mother has been grooming Daughter for some bigger things like maybe one day taking over raising all the test tube babies soon to be "hatched."
Like any good parent, having your kid getting an early jump on an obligatory med school education is a priority.
Mother is Daughter's tutor and not only inculcates technical skills but also focuses on ethics, crucial into molding Daughter into the "Übermensch" she must become if humanity is to be successfully replaced.
Daughter is asked a key question during one of her examinations-would she sacrifice herself as an organ donor to save a group of five patients? Mother is undoubtedly more than satisfied when Daughter qualifies her actions by inquiring about the character of her patients.
Suppose the patients were thieves or murderers, she asks. The distinction makes it clear that Daughter already has developed the notion that there are higher and lower humans, defined by the moral choices they make.
Daughter however must soon resolve a big tissue of cognitive dissonance following the sudden appearance of Woman (Hillary Swank) who wants into the bunker after being shot under mysterious circumstances.
Daughter hesitates because Mother has taught her that the surface of the earth is still contaminated after nuclear war.
Soon we learn everything that happens here on in is a test designed by Mother to determine the strength of Daughter's character. Daughter lets Woman in because she is at heart a good, caring person.
That early med school training really comes in handy when Daughter removes the bullet in Woman's stomach saving her life
The bigger test transpires when Daughter learns that Woman is Mother's first child, cast out due to her imperfections. Worse is when Daughter discovers that Mother murdered her second child (cremating her in a high tech kiln).
Understandably Daughter is now upset with Mother who dangles a carrot-she allows Daughter to select an embryo which will be born the next day as her newly minted brother.
The final test occurs when Woman takes Daughter as a hostage as they both flee to the surface of the earth. Woman led Daughter to believe she was involved in a protracted guerilla war against the robots but finally admits she's the only human left standing as apparently the robots have completed their intention to exterminate all humanity.
For all those who gave I am Mother low scores, we now understand why.
Daughter ends up returning to the bunker where her wish is granted to become the real mother to all the soon-to-born embryos-with Mother's permission she eliminates her as humanity's caretaker.
But it's very unpleasant because after all Daughter has made a deal with the devil. She agrees to become a mother with the full knowledge that her own mother murdered one of her children and abandoned another in order to mold Daughter into an alleged superior human.
And what of Woman? Sputore intentionally has made her into an unlikable, loathsome character-a perfect example of the oppressed attempting to become the oppressor, but failing miserably.
The deck is stacked against Woman as it's made it clear that she's being used as part of the test to groom Daughter.
Should we expect Woman to be any better than the way she turned out? Even if she was "imperfect" to begin with, she was treated so miserably by the AI system-a witness to the extermination of humanity-that there is no reason why anyone should look down on her.
Nonetheless Daughter opts to play Mother's game with the full knowledge she is party to a crime. That is the irony of the story-the ethical Daughter participates in Mother's dastardly eugenics scheme.
I guess Woman just couldn't pass her med school finals. Is Sputore unconsciously approving of the elitism of technocracy and "science" or is Daughter the real deal simply following her maternal instinct?
I Am Mother has quite a bit of suspense through two thirds of the narrative, but the payoff is a little disappointing for the reasons elucidated above. Rugaard is great as the beleaguered mother-to-be but Swank can do little with the unpleasant role of a woman who can't catch a break.
Unlike Terminator, where the AI system simply wants to destroy all humanity, AI in I Am Mother seeks to replace the human race with a stock of "superior" humans, raised in a bunker beginning with an assortment of frozen embryos.
The AI system is interconnected to thousands of robots guided by one in particular named "Mother" (voiced by Rose Byrne and performed by Luke Hawker).
Mother selects one embryo and in effect raises her test tube baby until she becomes a teenager called "Daughter" (with Clara Rugaard in the starring role). Director Grant Sputore cleverly creates a montage revealing just how Mother raises Daughter in this high-tech underground playpen.
It soon becomes clear that Mother has been grooming Daughter for some bigger things like maybe one day taking over raising all the test tube babies soon to be "hatched."
Like any good parent, having your kid getting an early jump on an obligatory med school education is a priority.
Mother is Daughter's tutor and not only inculcates technical skills but also focuses on ethics, crucial into molding Daughter into the "Übermensch" she must become if humanity is to be successfully replaced.
Daughter is asked a key question during one of her examinations-would she sacrifice herself as an organ donor to save a group of five patients? Mother is undoubtedly more than satisfied when Daughter qualifies her actions by inquiring about the character of her patients.
Suppose the patients were thieves or murderers, she asks. The distinction makes it clear that Daughter already has developed the notion that there are higher and lower humans, defined by the moral choices they make.
Daughter however must soon resolve a big tissue of cognitive dissonance following the sudden appearance of Woman (Hillary Swank) who wants into the bunker after being shot under mysterious circumstances.
Daughter hesitates because Mother has taught her that the surface of the earth is still contaminated after nuclear war.
Soon we learn everything that happens here on in is a test designed by Mother to determine the strength of Daughter's character. Daughter lets Woman in because she is at heart a good, caring person.
That early med school training really comes in handy when Daughter removes the bullet in Woman's stomach saving her life
The bigger test transpires when Daughter learns that Woman is Mother's first child, cast out due to her imperfections. Worse is when Daughter discovers that Mother murdered her second child (cremating her in a high tech kiln).
Understandably Daughter is now upset with Mother who dangles a carrot-she allows Daughter to select an embryo which will be born the next day as her newly minted brother.
The final test occurs when Woman takes Daughter as a hostage as they both flee to the surface of the earth. Woman led Daughter to believe she was involved in a protracted guerilla war against the robots but finally admits she's the only human left standing as apparently the robots have completed their intention to exterminate all humanity.
For all those who gave I am Mother low scores, we now understand why.
Daughter ends up returning to the bunker where her wish is granted to become the real mother to all the soon-to-born embryos-with Mother's permission she eliminates her as humanity's caretaker.
But it's very unpleasant because after all Daughter has made a deal with the devil. She agrees to become a mother with the full knowledge that her own mother murdered one of her children and abandoned another in order to mold Daughter into an alleged superior human.
And what of Woman? Sputore intentionally has made her into an unlikable, loathsome character-a perfect example of the oppressed attempting to become the oppressor, but failing miserably.
The deck is stacked against Woman as it's made it clear that she's being used as part of the test to groom Daughter.
Should we expect Woman to be any better than the way she turned out? Even if she was "imperfect" to begin with, she was treated so miserably by the AI system-a witness to the extermination of humanity-that there is no reason why anyone should look down on her.
Nonetheless Daughter opts to play Mother's game with the full knowledge she is party to a crime. That is the irony of the story-the ethical Daughter participates in Mother's dastardly eugenics scheme.
I guess Woman just couldn't pass her med school finals. Is Sputore unconsciously approving of the elitism of technocracy and "science" or is Daughter the real deal simply following her maternal instinct?
I Am Mother has quite a bit of suspense through two thirds of the narrative, but the payoff is a little disappointing for the reasons elucidated above. Rugaard is great as the beleaguered mother-to-be but Swank can do little with the unpleasant role of a woman who can't catch a break.