Since coming out of retirement in 2017, Steven Soderbergh has remained a hot commodity within the acting community even though his most recent caper films are a yawn. Stars like Don Cheadle in No Sudden Movie and every Hollywood actor from Channing Tatum to Dwight Yoakam in Logan Lucky still flock towards the man, but no one is sparkling like J.Lo and George Clooney in Out of Sight. Luckily, the production value of this prolific director is still impressive. The lighting is just as sterile as your local Walmart and the camera angles are simultaneously obstructed yet telling, but overall, Soderbergh’s more recent films have lost their novelty. The plot twists and non-linear narratives remain, but unfortunately they don’t hit the same. Maybe his schtick is just a little too predictable at this point?
However, there are always some exceptions to the rule. KIMI, Soderbergh’s newest film, is sort of fun. The story begins simply enough and establishes its tone. There’s an icy suburban home and inside there’s a creepy suburban man. He reads like an incel but he’s actually the CEO of a tech company called Amygdala. During his brief at home interview that includes cutaway shots of a ring light and “business on top, party on bottom” look, this man reveals that he is launching a smart speaker called KIMI that is similar to both Siri and Alexa. Apparently “people” are what distinguishes his product apart from its competition. Rather than using an algorithm, his team listens and regulates data, which is a good thing because people are less messy than the codes they create. The irony is palpable. We know that not everything is as good as it seems, but does he?
Enter Angela (Zoe Kravitz). She’s an employee of Amygdala, who monitors incoming data streams from various KIMI devices. She always “clears her lists” and serves as the film’s protagonist. We spend more than most of our time locked into her point-of-view. Wiry and observant with blue hair, Angela works from home in a colossal Seattle loft, applies hand sanitizer incessantly, and rarely leaves the comfort of her own home. Her daily routine is on full display for our enjoyment. Whether she’s working out or making coffee, her jaw is usually clenched and she’s driven by compulsions. Shot from April to May 2021, Soderbergh combines the pandemic with the film’s plot, and as a result a strong sense of paranoia runs thick throughout Kravitz’s performance. Even in a post lockdown world, her actions seem somewhat reasonable, but Angela tweaks more than everyone else, and she’s honestly kind of rude and annoying. When there is a noise complaint from an upstairs neighbor, she tweaks. When her sneaky link enters the building without buzzing up, she tweaks, but it’s not really her fault. The pandemic combined with her residual traumas has turned into an intense case of agoraphobia. If only she could chill!
But in today’s modern world, there’s no real need to leave the house, especially when you live in a remote controlled city like Seattle. Whether it’s Facebook, Tiktok, or Linkedin, tech companies have developed more ways for users to network, organize, buy products, go viral, or express political preferences online, so Angela sits at home. There’s no real reason (other than her mental health) for her to leave the house especially when everything is at her fingertips. So she flags and updates Amygdala content as needed until she hears something she can’t un-hear. Obviously it’s a grisely murder, this is a Soderbergh production after all, but not really a whodunnit. Angela spirals upon finding this information until she snaps into place, and the film is better for it.
Similar to Soderbergh’s only other post-retirement (dull) gem, Unsane, KIMI is all about its feral lead performance and the camera constantly dances around Kravitz. Whether she’s sitting at her desk or trying to to unlock the door, Soderbergh catches Angela’s every move. It feels like surveillance and we’re on the outside looking in. Aware of all the close-ups and low angle shots, Kravitz moves appropriately through the choreography. She plays the part as if she knows she’s under constant surveillance, not only from technology, but also from her peers and loved ones. As a result, she doesn’t speak much throughout the film, but her body language is telling. As an actress, Kravitz’s job is to convey Angela’s inner turmoil that melts into her external anxieties, and she confidently accomplishes this mission with small gestures that feel lived in. Alone, she’s just as feral as Claire Foy in Unsane, who had co-stars and a mental institution to literally bounce off of. Soderbergh sometimes moonlights as a DP - he famously directed the first Magic Mike and then worked as the cinematographer on the far better masterpiece Magic Mike XXL - so it's no surprise that he knows his angles. In KIMI, Kravitz is his prima ballerina, but she’s not having fun like the Kings of Tampa. She’s simply under too much self-induced stress.
By the third act of the film, there is a significant tonal shift. Shit hits the fan. Angela is outside of the apartment and on the case. Hitmen are following her and no one believes her. What else is new? Soderbergh doesn’t give the creepy surveillance thriller a new spin despite the recent technologies, but luckily, Kravitz saves the day. She doesn’t play Angela as a victim. The minute she shuts her laptop, it's easy to root for her. Kravitz is still not on the same effortless level as Lopez or Clooney, but she’s onto something. It’s no wonder she was cast as the phenomenally edgy and seductive Selina Kyle in THE Batman. She’s got the chops and she’s cool. Without her, this film would fade away into mush. Something we’ve already seen many years before… Obviously, Rear Window.