A modern day version of REAR WINDOW, Steven Soderbergh’s KIMI definitely has the suspenseful, captivating feel of an old Hitchcock film. Released on HBO MAX, KIMI is a refreshing take on the genre with a touch of surprise.
Angela (Zoe Kravitz) lives in an upper apartment in Seattle. Working from home, Angela keeps up a pretty tight routine of working out, listening to music, and viewing the outside world from the safety of her apartment window. Angela is an agoraphobic or a person who has a fear of public spaces, so much so that she has panic attacks whenever she attempts to leave her apartment. The title KIMI is named after the fictional smart system within the film. Similar to Siri or Alexa, people can ask KIMI a variety of questions and have it synced with their other devices (turning on lights, music, emails). Angela’s job is to listen to recordings of KIMI where it did not fully understand its owner’s question or request and then correct or fill in the blank of whatever the owner intended to mean. Obviously this has some privacy boundaries that come to light when Angela hears what she believes to be an act of very serious domestic violence. But unavailing this truth will not only mean Angela has to make her way outside, but she also must face a much deeper ramification of a company wanting to keep their listening ways secret.
KIMI takes place in our current world of living with COVID and finishing a long stint of national quarantine. So it makes sense that Angela may have anxiety about leaving her apartment and being so acclimated to doing everything from home. It even stands to reason to be a bit familiar with her neighbors through the windows in the apartments across the street. Perhaps that is what feels so special about KIMI – the fact that it has accepted the state of life that we are currently living out day to day. Kravitz is particularly great as our protagonist carrying every frame of the picture, proving she has leading lady charisma.
Steven Soderergh’s direction of the simple but effective screenplay by David Koepp is a major highlight. Thrusting the audience into Angela’s point of view, we are able to feel the safety and even joy of her apartment looking out at others. When she steps out of the room, the visual alteration has a VERTIGO like feel, matching Angela’s anxiety and panic.
I’ve already mentioned a couple of Alfred Hitchcock movies to compare to and I have no doubt that Soderbergh had a purposeful agenda in recreating the late director’s ability to captivate and create suspense and mystery. Soderbergh brilliantly finds a way to modernize the style for today’s audience. KIMI somehow mends a classic and modern style and story together into a very surprisingly fantastic film that I believe will be a joy for many to discover.
