HBO Max Kimi (2022)

[Adam Lenhardt]

Title: Kimi (2022)

Tagline: She's not the only one listening.

Genre: Thriller

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Zoë Kravitz, Byron Bowers, Jaime Camil, Erika Christensen, Derek DelGaudio, Robin Givens, Charles Halford, Devin Ratray, Jacob Vargas, Rita Wilson, India de Beaufort, Sarai Koo, Koya Harada, George Evans, Sheila Evans, Sebastian Evans, Henrich Evans, Betsy Brantley, Alyana Gomez, Brian Flores, Lakin Valdez, Patrika Darbo, Cheyenne Nguyen, Andrew Daymer, Alex Dobrenko, David Wain, Andrew Daly, Noelle E. Parker, Finnegan George, Jamie Baer, Emily Kuroda, Alina Gatti, Caleb Emery, Beka Sikharulidze, Aviona Rodriguez Brown, Erica Matthews, Megan Gotz, Raymond Power, Brenna Wagner, Conner Marx, Lauryn Scoon

Release: 2022-02-10

Runtime: 89

Plot: A tech worker with agoraphobia discovers recorded evidence of a violent crime but is met with resistance when she tries to report it. Seeking justice, she must do the thing she fears the most: she must leave her apartment.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Zoë Kravitz plays Angela Childs, an audio engineer with OCD tendencies who has been agoraphobic since surviving a sexual assault some years earlier. Setbacks triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic have left her totally homebound, in a cavernous Seattle apartment that her father converted for her inside an old warehouse before he passed away. Inside the apartment, where she can control all of the variables, she is assertive and confident. But as soon as she sticks picks up her keys to go outside, the panic overwhelms her.

She supports herself interpreting audio recorded by a Siri-like virtual assistant, providing conditional information to help it better interpret users' requests. However, one day a recording pops into her queue that she finds troubling. Underneath loud music, she hears what appears to be a sexual assault. Using her audio equipment she is able to filter out most of the music and hear clearly what is some kind of violent assault.

Her attempts to report what she has found run into bureaucratic hurdles typical of such a large corporation, along with more sinister forces. She finds herself up against not competing agendas but also the limitations imposed by her anxiety disorder.

The movie is under 90 minutes long, and it doesn't waste a single moment. Every beat, every exchange, develops character, furthers plot, and sometimes both. Angela is a prickly presence who takes some warming up to, but she makes for a fierce and valiant protagonist. The movie understands both the terrifying power and potential pitfalls of smart technology, without overstating its capabilities. The pacing is perfect. Both Steven Soderbergh's direction and Kravitz's performance make Angela's agoraphobia viscerally palpable, especially as circumstances force Angela further and further out of her comfort zone: the editing, the sound, and the cinematography all speak to Angela's state of mind.

One of the best thrillers I've seen in a long, long time.