I Am Mother is an Austrailian sci-fi thriller that seems like a mid-budget film, full of interpersonal tension instead of the action and explosions that we are used to seeing in sci-fi Hollywood films, which makes it way more unique and interesting to watch. Rather than being mindlessly entertained, we are meant to pay attention to the dialogue and character interactions.
The film is about a young girl, portrayed by Clara Rugaard, who is raised by a droid called “Mother” and is voiced by Rose Byrne. According to Mother, a deadly virus wiped out mankind and “Daughter” — yes, that’s Clara Rugaard’s name in the film — is the only living human left. Right away you feel that something is off and for some reason you don’t trust Mother. You sense there is something unsettling about the droid from the moment you see it place a tiny-sized packet containing a human embryo it in a womb-looking contraption.
The relationship between Mother and Daughter is off-putting in many ways. Just look at the fact that they refer to each other exclusively as “Mother” and “Daughter.” Daughter doesn’t have an actual name, and by referring to each other by those names it makes their relationship seem quite formal. It gives their scenes together a feeling of sweetness that is also eerie. Byrne’s voice is able to subtly convey Mother’s genuine concern for the well-being of Daughter, which is always present, especially when the levels of tensions begin to rise.
Daughter is a curious person, and when she finds a mouse in the bunker she lives in she becomes utterly curious about the outside world. When Mother is turned off to charge for the night, Daughter decides to open the locked vault doors. As she does, she hears a cry for help coming from outside. Daughter sees an injured woman, portrayed by Hilary Swank. She opens the door to let the women in, setting off the alarm and awakening Mother.
The woman is hostile toward droids and will not let Mother help her at all. Mother appears to be sincere in trying to give aid to the woman but is disturbingly deceitful; she does not trust the woman at all and is worried that the women will turn Daughter away from her. Daughter is then caught in the middle of the two. She loves her mother but is confused about the lies Mother has told her. Daughter does some investigating, and soon she finds out there have been other children before her, and that Mother has killed them. Daughter then seeks to escape from the bunker with the woman.
I Am Mother is an actor-driven film as much as it is a genre piece. Byrne is able to convey humanity in her robotic voice, which gives a sense of actual attachment towards Daughter that is more than her pre-programmed protectiveness. Luke Hawker is responsible for all the movements and gestures for Mother, and the teamwork of Hawker and Byrne to create the character of Mother is incredible. They are able to design a droid that carries human characteristics and that the audience is able to sympathize with.
I Am Mother explores the outcomes of when technology thinks it knows best for humanity and how that might go wrong. At the end of the film, we are left with the thought of what it means to be human. Humankind is so dependent on other humans; we are a social species that needs each other. What are we if we are raised by robots? What is technology doing to humans in our world today? We live in an age where we have virtual assistants like Alexa interacting with us daily; what are the impacts of that on us? I think those are questions that we all should be asking.
