Based
on the story and novel by Isaac Asimov, this film explores the theme of
humanity in the increasingly mechanized age. Robin Williams plays
Andrew, a robot created to serve as a household appliance, i.e. a
housekeeper/ nanny/companion. Andrew seems to exhibit a bit more than
his artificial intelligence programming is supposed to allow. His owner
(Sam Neill) encourages him in learning and exercising his talents.
Andrew is becoming more and more like a human. Although Andrew is much
too advanced for his own kind, he is not good enough for human kind, so
he goes on a quest to become human.
Yes, there is warmth in the story, maybe even awe as
we imagine the implications of a robot evolving into a better human
being than most humans are. Although a sweet movie with good ideas, Bicentennial
Man falls short of its potential impact; the film offers little
humor, little conflict, and at best vague messages.
The complex themes of the essence of humanity, love
between a human and a machine, immortality, and the origin and nature of
the soul have undoubtedly received an in-depth treatment in the novel.
Of those themes, two are given emphasis in the film: the essence of
humanity, and love between a human and a robot.
Andrew goes through several upgrades in order to be
more like a human being. Would looking like a human make him more like
one? Will feeling like a human make him one? In many ways, Andrew seems
more advanced than most of those in his world, and at the same time,
because he is unconditionally devoted to his lover Portia, he is able to
embrace the full reality of being human with grace and beauty.
As if all that were not enough to make the point,
Andrew seeks to be officially recognized as a human being so his living
with a lover can be recognized as a marriage. We were distracted by this
because great lovers of all times laugh and love on in the face of
society that for one reason or other rejects their union. Why would a
robot be so smitten with official recognition? So, in the end, Bicentennial
Man is a story fragmented by the complex issues it tries to turn
into a light-hearted entertainment. It ultimately fails to bring
laughter or light to its topic.
