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'A. I.' is astonishing, futuristic Pinocchio tale

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (Rated PG-13 for violence, strong sexual innuendo) Four Stars (Excellent) A darkly fascinating tale of a robot child that longs to be a real boy – and find the love of a real mother. The diverse and deeply talented imaginations of Steven Spielberg and the late Stanley Kubrick converge to create a masterwork that will haunt and inspire filmgoers for years to come. Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law star for director Spielberg. Warner Bros. and DreamWorks, 145 mins.

For that matter, what makes us human? Is it the ability to dream? To shed a tear?

Those are the sort of philosophical issues raised by "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," a fabulous fable instigated by the late Stanley Kubrick and brought to fruition by Steven Spielberg.

And though Kubrick and Spielberg are the yin and yang of film futurists, the collaboration works. Filmgoers will be surprised by the smooth and artful blend of the icy, dark intelligence of Kubrick and the warm, child-like innocence of Spielberg.

"A.I." is thought provoking and deeply involving, and serves, in a way, as the ultimate final chapter of two trilogies. Put it on the shelf with Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange" and with Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T."

The amazing Haley Joel Osment stars as David, a prototype robot boy that wants nothing more than to become a real boy. (Yes, "Pinocchio" casts a giant shadow.)

We're in the distant future, and most lower, coastal cities, like New York, are underwater. Natural resources are limited, but technology is running rampant.

Many parents have not yet been approved to have children, but Cybertronics Manufacturing has a solution – human-like robot children, programmed to love only the parents who initiate the process with a coded message.

Once programmed, they love unconditionally, until they're destroyed.

Chosen to test David, the prototype, is Cybertronics employee Henry Swinton (Sam Robards) and his wife, Monica (Frances O'Connor). They're considered ideal, because their only son has a terminal illness and has been cryogenically frozen until a cure can be found, leaving Monica severely depressed.

Monica is initially shocked when Henry brings home a robot son, but she comes to appreciate David's affection.

But then the human son is cured, and his return home leads to chaos. David doesn't quite know how to interact with a brother, and the jealous real boy pulls cruel pranks on the android.

Monica has no choice but to return David to Cybertronics to be destroyed. However, she can't go through with her decision – and stops at woods near the factory and lets the boy go. Hurt and confused, David wanders the landscape in search of his mommy.

Failing that, he'd love to find the blue fairy. "Pinocchio" had become a favorite story while at the Swintons, and he knows the blue fairy can turn him into a real boy.

Thus ends the first of three distinct segments of "A.I." Part two spotlights the robot boy's relationship with an odd choice for a guardian – a slick robot gigolo named Joe (well played by Jude Law).

Joe's sole function is to please women, either with the romantic music he turns on with the flick of his head or the sexual prowess he promises from beneath his tight leather pants.

Joe and David struggle to stay out of the grip of fanatic humans bent on destroying all artificial intelligence, while David continues his Oedipal odyssey.

Part three projects us another 2000 years into the future, for a profound conclusion to David's journey – a conclusion you should discover for yourself.

Rated PG-13, with adult issues, including child separation anxieties, violence, strong sexual innuendo. Despite Osment and Spielberg, this film is NOT designed for pre-teens.

Jack Garner is chief film reviewer for the Gannett News Service.