Review: The Pod Generation

In the not so distant future, AI has become an even bigger part of life. So much so that Rachel (Emilia Clarke) an ambitious business woman decides to use the Womb Center to grow her baby in a pod instead of becoming pregnant herself. Her botanist husband, Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofer) is less enthused with the pod, and with the world in general.

In a time where actors are on strike, studios are trying to replace real people with AI, and the owner of Twitter is actively trying to turn his website into a crypto-bro haven, The Pod Generation's biting satirical take feels even more relevant. More than once in the film, someone mentions that they don't need real nature because they have "nature pods now." Rachel's therapist is essentially the eye of Sauron and the kids at a pre-school don't physically make art anymore. They just give suggestions to the computer making it for them. 

The film is completely centered on Rachel and Alvy's story, which works against it in some ways because there are so many conversations to be had, but not enough time to have them. Still, Clarke and Ejiofer are charming and I'm happy to go along with their little part of this extremely complicated world. My only complaint is that I feel like this shouldn't been set in England. It takes place in New York, but the cast is nearly entirely made up of talented English actors. I just found it a bit distracting, especially when you can hear their accents slip. Plus, the change in setting would've given this a more Black Mirror feel that would've worked well in my opinion.

Still, The Pod Generation is a nice film about what could be. This is the first film I've seen from director Sophie Barthes, and I'm interested in what she'll do next.

Grade: B