Emilia Clarke, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rosalie Craig appear in a still from The Pod Generation by Sophie Barthes, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Andrij Parekh.
We live in a world surrounded by artificial intelligence. Our smartphones have virtual assistants. Many of us have Alexas or Google Hubs or HomePods in our houses, curating our playlists and telling us the weather and the news. We’re staring at a future that will potentially be defined by all of the things AI can do. What happens when we outsource the most human of all experiences, childbirth? That’s the question at the heart of Sophie Barthes’ new film, The Pod Generation. A heartwarming dramedy about a couple who has a baby via an artificial pod, The Pod Generation feels like an episode of Black Mirror – just far less bleak. It’s funny, sweet, and like all good sci-fi, fundamentally human.
A Very Human Story
Sometime in the future, a single tech conglomerate controls most aspects of society. They control the government, most places of employment, and even Birth Centers. This is a future where humanity has little need for nature. Instead, virtual assistants control almost all aspects of human life and the closest anyone gets to nature is the inside of a Nature Pod. Rachel (Emilia Clarke) is pretty content with this artificial life, but her husband, Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor), isn’t. When Rachel decides she wants to have an artificial birth rather than a natural one, Alvy initially rejects the notion. But as their pregnancy progresses, Rachel and Alvy adjust to this new reality – in ways that are both expected and unexpected.
The Pod Generation is a bit of a strange film to approach. On the one hand. it feels like an episode of Black Mirror. A satire on all of the ways Big Tech has crept into our lives, all of the control we’ve ceded to them. In fact, it doesn’t feel that far-fetched to imagine a future just like this one. A future where some big tech company controls some kind of artificial birthing center. On the flip side, The Pod Generation eschews Black Mirror‘s approach to science fiction. This isn’t a dark, cynical movie. Far from it. The Pod Generation is a surprisingly funny, heartwarming, and very human story. It wears its message on its sleeve, for sure. But it’s not the kind of movie you walk away from feeling hopeless about society. Instead, it fills you with hope, which is such a lovely feeling.
Nature vs Artificiality
At its heart, The Pod Generation explores the conflict between nature and artificiality. We currently live in a world that tries to push nature to the wayside. We’re constantly glued to computers and smartphones, disconnected from the very world around us. The Pod Generation turns that disconnect up to an eleven, imagining a world where people don’t even go outside and explore nature, instead choosing to take brief sojourns to nature pods and oxygen concentrators that pump fresh air from small biodomes. But what happens when you take the most human thing of all, childbirth, and remove that humanity? Can you even do that? As far as The Pod Generation is concerned, no. Having said that, though, the film doesn’t always communicate its point of view super clearly.
The movie’s pacing is kind of weird, taking ages to really get going and a good chunk of the film’s second acts feels fairly muddy in terms of what it’s trying to communicate. But by the end of the film, the movie definitely picks a side and sticks to it pretty hard. Along the way, there are plenty of satirical and heartfelt moments that are just so much fun to watch. The question of artificiality vs nature is one that’s constantly plaguing us these days, and most science fiction that explores that question seems to take a much darker view of the future. To be fair, this movie certainly starts out that way, but there’s just something so human about this story. It’s that very human feeling that digs into your soul and stays with you long after you finish the film.
Superb Performances
Emelia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor largely carry this movie on their shoulders. One or both of them is in almost every scene, and without both actors giving their all, the movie simply wouldn’t work. For starters, their relationship just feels so genuine. From the moment both of them appear on screen, you immediately believe they’re in this loving, supportive marriage. There’s that palpable spark there between them, that hint of warmth, that shared history. As the movie progresses, and each of their characters goes on their own journeys together and apart, both actors shine so brightly that it’s hard to look away. Ejiofor, especially, is excellent here. He’s absolutely hilarious, and the scenes he shares with the pod are a perfect blend of comedy and emotion that makes you smile every time he’s on screen.
Their dynamic is really interesting, too. At first, Rachel feels like the sensible one. She’s got the big, important job in the city. She gets the big promotion that leads to them having this artificially-born child. She believes her worldview is the practical one. The future is now, and you can’t live in the past. The film frequently contrasts that with Alvy, whose eccentricities often take center stage. Rachel seems like the sensible one and Alvy seems like he’s either got his head in the clouds or he’s far too attached to the past. The further into the story you get, the more their worldviews mix and match and change, and both actors just play that so beautifully. The Pod Generation is a story about the two of them and their very human connection is this artificial world.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, The Pod Generation is exactly the kind of science fiction we need more of. There’s a place in the world for those cynical deconstructions of all the ways society as it is can go wrong and wreck things. Yet, there’s also a need for more hopeful views of the future, especially ones that can balance that hopefulness with biting social commentary. That’s exactly what The Pod Generation accomplishes. Sure, it feels about fifteen minutes too long and the film’s pacing sometimes hurts it – especially in the first half. But Clarke and Ejiofor’s performances are so compelling and the movie is just so heartwarming and funny that it’s hard not to get swept up in it.
If you’re looking for a new piece of science fiction that takes a look at the world as it is now and guts it in a very humorous, emotional, way, then The Pod Generation is for you. It’s funny, heartwarming, and most of all – human.
The Pod Generation had its World Premiere in the Premieres section of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Director: Sophie Barthes
Writer: Sophie Barthes
Rated: NR
Runtime: 109m
At first, "The Pod Generation" feels like an episode of "Black Mirror". But as you watch it, you quickly learn it's a very heartwarming, comedic piece of science fiction exploring the conflict between nature and artificiality. It's a funny, sweet, and fundamentally human film that's well worth a watch.
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GVN Rating 8.5
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