2050 is a 2019 sci-fi film about a family man struggling to hold it all together who discovers a parlor that offers a solution…sexbots.
Sex with robots. Sounds like distant science fiction but in truth, we’ve been making companions to enjoy some alone time with for centuries. Sure, lots of advancements have come along since hand-sewn leather puppets, with astonishingly accurate, anatomically-correct sex dolls now on the market. But full-blown, fully-functioning, near sentient machines created for pleasure? Not there yet, and many believe we never should be, the moral and ethical entanglements a powder-keg of controversy.
Either way, no matter where we are literally, in the fantasy of film, they’ve been around a long time, and now comes the latest in the lot, Princeton Holt‘s 2050, a sci-fi film whose title refers to a time when A.I. expert Dr. David Levy claims we won’t just be having sex with robots, we’ll be marrying them as well. It’s a terrifying prospect simply because there’s not a one of us who probably wouldn’t at least consider it.
It’s the year 2050 and times have sort of changed, technology still leading the way as city skylines are positively crowded with delivery drones and gaming is beyond virtual. Also, robots are a thing and of course, someone has turned them into a dating service. E-mates feature androids who are almost completely indistinguishable from humans. Almost. We meet Michael (David Vaughn) and Brooke (Irina Abraham), a married couple with kids who have lost their spark. They stop by unannounced at Drew’s (Devin Fuller), Brooke’s brother, to find he’s no longer with his girlfriend but with someone new, a ravishing young woman named Quin (Stormi Maya), who Michael accidently learns is a sex robot. Agreeing to keep it secret from Brooke, he asks Drew the right questions and soon is involved with Sophia (Stefanie Bloom), his own e-mate. But now what?
There’s a fascinating moment not more than thirty minutes into the show when the camera pans slowly across a red neon-lit lounge where couples have gathered in silence – humans with their artificial lovers. It’s a collection of young and old, mixed races, same genders, beautiful and homely, a slow moving train of what it would be like if we were all able to be with the ‘ideal’ mate we have stored somewhere up in our confused brains. As Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – Winter plays over the soundtrack, it’s a weirdly somber and troubling image that is partially the point. What is love and what are we looking for?
If there is anything that Holt does best, it’s his approach, a kind of intimate magnetism that is sort of playful but oddly compelling, his actors framed in swashes of sharp color as music in the public domain plays over the top. Co-written by Holt and Brian Ackley, 2050 wants to be a morality play as the questions of whether having a relationship with a manufactured being is not only practical, is it healthy? Physically and mentally. The film works to balance the possible answers and consequences of such, with the idea of a ‘perfect’ lover not always what we want when not everything is reciprocated. At least for some.
Honestly, it’s an unusual experience, and while much of it skims from the familiar, including everything between replicants in Blade Runner to Data on Star Trek and myriad others, 2050 isn’t without some originality. It’s small budget means there is no obvious action, or at least action one might expect in the genre, keeping this a talky exchange, however, it’s sheer commitment to the absurd and with Holt’s often visually provocative storytelling, this has some genuine impact. Look for Dean Cain in a minor but important role as well as a terrific collection of classical music used in creative ways. Not for everyone, there’s plenty of interesting curveballs to start a conversation. Pay attention and you might find yourself unsure of your answers.