9/12 ForReel Score | 4/5 Stars

Steven Soderberg has once again impressed me with his new tech thriller, Kimi. He seems to have his finger on the pulse of what audiences want and evolves to keep up with the ever advancing landscape. On par with his other thrillers Side Effect and Unsane, Soderberg can take a classic concept and breathe new life into it. Paring with screenwriter David Koepp, they produce a new age Rear Window resembling a Black Mirror episode. Yet it feels more tangible and more present, not a decade away.

Set mid-pandemic, the story focuses on society’s prevailing virtual assistant, Kimi. Similar to Siri or Alexa, Kimi differentiates itself by constantly improving with the help of gig workers who listen to failed Kimi requests and rework the code to ensure Kimi is more user friendly. Zoë Kravitz plays Angela Childs, one of Kimi’s stream interpreters whose past anxieties have resurfaced due to the pandemic with a level of agoraphobia that prevents her from walking out of her door without having a panic attack.

Angela finds comfort in her large Seattle loft apartment. It’s the only place where she feels in control, where even welcomed visitors can’t stray from her strict entry protocol. She jeopardizes that security, however, after a stream interpreting session when she comes across a recording of a woman screaming. It’s immediately clear to Angela: Kimi has recorded an assault. Given the runaround by the Kimi corporate office, Angela initiates her own investigation only to discover the victim may have been brutally murdered.

This - a little less than an hour into the film - is where the narrative escalates to true thriller heights. Angela is forced to leave her apartment to report her findings. At this point, Soderberg trades smooth, perfectly framed dolly shots for slanted handycam, properly capturing the dread of going out into the world with a heightened and overstimulated state of anxiety.

The camera and sound work play a significant part in detailing Angela’s perception. When coding, the camera is concentrated on the details: the specific line of code, Angela’s eyes, which fingers are typing. As she puts an earbud in, the corresponding side of the audience’s speakers go silent. Even while being chased the score has a higher pitch, almost ethereal, in place of the typical action type score.

Soderberg’s style brilliantly compliments Koepp’s script. It is on par with his previous works, Panic Room and Secret Window. Koepp is able to materialize the fear of not feeling safe in your own home by staying intimate with his protagonist. Focusing on a smaller scale, it is easier for the audience to put themselves in the starring role and experience the anxiety first hand.

Where other new-age isolated thrillers like Woman In the Window, The Voyeurs, and Sightless, falter, Kimi flourishes. Highlighting the ever growing fear of technology and the rights to privacy, Kimi is grounded in modern plausibility. Which makes the only thing more overwhelming than stepping outside with agoraphobia is wondering how real this work of fiction might already be.

REVIEW: "Kimi"; Personal Assistant Or Virtual Spy