Seriously! The Director, Chris Columbus (Home Alone, John Candy, Anthony Quinn and Maureen O'Hara in Only The Lonely, and Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire) deserves 5 stars for his own work on this. Isaac Asimov, for his short story Bicentennial Man and his novel The Positronic Man co-authored with Robert Silverberg, also deserves 5 stars for himself. Then, too, Phil Meheux for his cinematography, and Nicholas Kazan for his delicious screenplay deserve 5 stars each.
That brings us down to the cast, and what a cast it is! Sam Neill plays the head-of-household, "Sir" Richard Martin with such warmth and educated gentility it warms your heart just to watch. "Sir" is so supportively empathic toward his new purchase that you can almost forget the coldly driven character he played in The Piano. And, his new purchase....
His new purchase for his family is a new NDR-114 robot household appliance. The letters NDR are, of course, the source of the robot's new name, Andrew. There is also a strong possibility, since Columbus was a passionate fan of Stanley Kubrick, that the number 114 was an "insider" tribute to Kubrick who used the number in several movies. For trivia buffs, Kubrick used 114 as the serial number of the Jupiter Explorer in 2001, the name of the decoder in Dr. Strangelove, and gave Alex "Serum 114" in Clockwork Orange.
As Andrew, Robin Williams delivers another riveting performance that ranges from the automaton speech and movement of the new robot, through the evolutionary process of humanization as he and his owner family age and become more a "single family" as he puts it. There is humor, as when the eldest daughter expresses her dislike of Andrew by commanding him to jump out the second floor window.
Since the three prime laws of robotics (drafted by Asimov and used by every other robotics writer since) are listed in order of their inviolability:
1. To do nothing that would harm a human in any manner.
2. To obey all orders of humans that would not violate rule No. 1.
3. To do nothing that would harm themselves or otherwise impair their ability to serve humans.
And, since the order to jump out the window supercedes by two the force of self preservation, Andrew jumps, and you have to see the results for yourself -- 100 percent Robin Williams!
There is sadness and pathos and even heartbreak, as when Neill finally dies and Andrew feels the pain of losing a loved one without the capacity to express or vent that pain. Oh, yes, you will find out what it is to share feelings with a robot because Williams is irresistable. Have tissues available!
To Andrew, the family is Sir (Neill), Ma'am (Wendy Crewson), Miss (Angela Landis), and Little Miss (Hallie Kate Eisenberg). It's only by close attention that we find out the real names, and even then Neill's wife is Ma'am for the entire film. Sir is, of course, Richard; Ma'am is Ma'am; Miss is Amanda, and Little Miss is Grace. Now that I've told you, I challenge you to see where you learn their names by watching it just one time!
Where Ma'am is apathetic toward Andrew, and Sir is empathic and nurturing, Amanda is antagonistic enough to make you wish she had her head pinched off. Grace, on the other hand, is overflowing with childish love and wonder for this creation who does wonderful things for her. Oh, how I would love to describe this film scene by scene, but I know it would rob you of the deep and heartfelt pleasure of watching it yourself.
I hate to admit it, but this is another of those films I've put off watching because the title didn't light my fire. I mean, after all, Bicentennial Man somehow failed to ignite a conflagration in my curiosity and left my craving for good love stories empty and flaccid. When it finally showed up on STARZ premium movie channel, I had no more excuses for not watching. Now, I'm again kicking myself for depriving myself of this emotional nourishment for so long.
The plot is simple, even though the actual story is luxurious in its fulfillment. Sir buys a household robot which is gradually assimilated as part of the family. The robot feels the frustration of his non-human condition, even though he is gradually coming to feel the joys and sorrows of humanity. He devotes himself to learning as much as he can, and to pursuing methods (as they become available over the years) by which he can be made more human, and experience and express more human feelings.
In the course of this pursuit, he comes to love the grown-up Little Miss (Embeth Davidtz) and her virtual clone granddaughter Portia. Both Little Miss and, eventually, Portia respond to the genuine inner goodness that is Andrew, and return the love even though there is nothing that can be done with a robot.
There you have the basic plot, and the nature of the conflict that tortures Andrew (and the audience) throughout the movie. Andrew is aided in his pursuit of refined human characteristics by the grandson of one of the robotics corporation founders, Rupert Burns - played by Oliver Platt. I'm sorry to say that despite coming from an acting family, and despite having turned in very good performances in earlier films, Platt was flat in this one. Not flat enough to totally ruin anything, but just lacking in enough roundness to add pleasure to the film.
When you watch this film, and I know you will simply because it's such a good film that you have to, watch for the subtle touches that add immeasurable richness to the experience. Everything ties into Andrew's quest until the film achieves a seamless quality. There is Platt's robotic assistant, Galatea (played wonderfully by Kiersten Warren), is named for the statue brought to life by the Gods in the Pygmalion myth - which parallels Andrew's goal. There is a scene in which Neill finds Andrew listening to an operatic aria on a wind-up phonograph. For most, the significance of the aria would be lost, but it tells worlds of Andrew's longings - it is from the Dvorak opera Rusalka about a water nymph who wants to become human for love.
For love. The prime emotion that powers the entire universe. Bicentennial Man exudes love even as the Magnolia flower exudes its sweet fragrance to completely permeate the air around it. And, at least for me, the fragrance lingers to remind me of just how nice, how warm, how loving life can be. I invite you to pick this particular blossom, savor the frangrance, and be reminded of just how nice, how warm, how loving life can be. Williams and Neill and Davidtz are simply incredible.
Bicentennial Man spans 200 years as it follows the life and times of Andrew (Williams), a robot purchased by a family as a household appliance program...More at HotMovieSale.com
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