“You’re not the droid we’re looking for.”
I have to say that going to see a film written and/or directed by Taika Waititi is a lot like going to Vegas or any casino in the country. You always hope you’re going to walk away a winner, but more often than not you walk away without your money. And that’s how I feel about Waititi. He can be absolutely brilliant and clever. Jojo Rabbit was one of the most clever and original films I’ve ever seen. But then you have Thor: Love And Thunder, where you leave the theater feeling picked clean. The problem is, no matter how many times you get fleeced, you keep going back for more. That’s what Vegas counts on, and that’s what Waititi counts on. I’m not a casino guy, but I know the feeling. I’ve seen too many Taika Waititi movies, and it always feels like I’m looking for what Eric Wolfson refers to as a turn of a friendly card. Will Waititi fleece me, or will I walk out feeling like a winner? It’s going to be one or the other … except when it’s not. Klara And The Sun managed to do both in the same movie.
The talented Jenna Ortega plays Klara. It’s a kind of dystopian future that isn’t quite so dystopian, and Klara is an older model of robot. In these years robots are sold as a combination toy and companion for your children. We get to meet Klara and the other models she “lives” with, and it’s a rather authentic set piece. It’s really very much like a modern orphanage. The robots talk about the day they finally get taken home. They prepare with excitement each day the store is going to be open, and they relish the chances they get to spend time in the coveted window spots. There’s really that same orphanage feel where children are hoping the next couple will adopt them. But Klara is not only an out-of-date model, but she’s also somewhat awkward. She has a habit of standing one leg like a bird, and she’s more than a little clumsy. She even manages to cause a huge crash in the window display. But she has hope.
On one of her days in the window she appears to connect with a young girl. Mia Tharia plays Josie, who is a little awkward and different herself. The two play a short mimic game through the glass, but Josie is soon called away by her mother, played by Amy Adams. A few days later they return, and Josie decides she wants Klara and talks her mother into buying her. At their home you get a bit of the stepmother vibe toward Klara, as Mom isn’t buying that Klara is anything but a machine. But as time wears on, the girls bond and become family. Up to this point the film is filled with magic, mostly owing to Ortega’s brilliant performance and a real chemistry between the two girls.
We begin to learn about Josie, and that’s where the entire film jumps the track and decides to be something very different. Josie has been “lifted”; it’s a genetic procedure that gives you heightened brain usage and the intelligence and ability that goes along with it. But we learn Josie didn’t quite take to the procedure, and it could be a bad end for the girl. There’s a gathering with other “lifters”, and about that time Waititi decides he’s too impatient with the magical story he’s telling and starts to mix things up. There’s an appearance by Steve Buscemi, which is rather a nice turn, but everything starts to get more and more abstract. By the time the film ends, what should have been a complete emotional journey rather ends on a sour note. We discover that Mom has alternative motives for buying Klara and has planned a destiny for the girls that takes away all of the film’s first act charm. There’s also a nice amusing homage to M3GAN.
The film is based on a book by Nobel Laureate Kazu Ishiguro. I haven’t read the novel, but I’m told by those who have that it strays considerably from the source material. I’m pretty much OK with all of that. The two girls make what does work, work very well. Ortega has this magical ability to disappear into a character. She knows how to act with her eyes. Some of her best work is when she is by herself, where she likes to talk to the sun. She appears to be powered by solar energy, but she’s turned her devotion toward the sun into a kind of religion. Mia Tharia shares some great moments with her. They help each other “grow”. You will want desperately for that version of the film to play out toward some kind of a deeply emotional conclusion. But I’ve learned why Waititi is so inconsistent. He doesn’t have any patience. He’s afraid to let a story leave his control and have a life of its own. When that happens, his instinct appears to be to destroy that life and try to bring it back to something created by himself. That’s exactly what happens here. Maybe the chains will try something novel. Pay half price and just watch the first half of the movie. Any takers? This could have been an incredible movie. Instead it’s a “pretty good” movie. I have some advice for Waititi. Next time you feel you have to take over a narrative that is working so well? “Just try to get some pretend sleep. Okay?”
