Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: I’M YOUR MAN [Berlinale 2021 - Virtual]

The context of how we see the world and happiness can sometimes be seen as a connection of memories and how they play out, to their success or detriment. "I'm Your Man" [Competition] on the opening day of Berlinale 2021 virtual edition does that in many ways being an existential journey but also a romantic comedy/drama of sorts in the intersect. It also takes into account artificial connectors that might make our lives easier but also speaks to the essence of loneliness and a even bigger question of sentience. The basic logline is a humanoid being made to create the perfect life partner too a human. While a construct, the approach is of a career woman with certain relationship structures and hold ups in her life being used as a test subject for a new model to test its effectiveness. It does seem like a plot ploy at the inset. It doesn't place in a distant future and in fact looks similar to the ones around us. "Robot & Frank", at Sundance a couple years ago, took a similar approach.

Maren Eggert plays Alma, the woman in question in her mid 40s and living her life independently. She has many tinges of Virginia Madsen and that ability to equally resonate emotion and severe intelligence at the same time as if both were fighting against each other. And that is what this film needs. On the other end, is Dan Stevens, who has done big budget films like "Beauty & The Beast" as well as intense independents like "The Guest". This role as Tom is a hard one to pull off without being creepy, drawing the audience's mind to a different reality or offending some sector of the population. There are few movies that discuss such important themes without strictly talking about them without (especially in science fiction) convoluting the fact or using special effects. This does neither and a result comes off as a parable with interesting connotations.

While this film does become a bit more pedantic in certain ways as it goes on, there are moments of brilliance when just enough effects are used (the beginning and a returning scene in a dance hall are very good examples). "I'm Your Man" takes the female perspective in many ways reversing the male gaze in the idea of perception, perspective and the masks that are worn. B+

By Tim Wassberg