Other reviews:
“For all of its legitimate concerns about erosion of privacy in the digital age, Kimi is in many respects no less silly and conspiracy-friendly than Moonfall, imagining Jeff Bezos as Big Brother and Amazon’s entire staff as the Thought Police. For those who prefer clever plotting to F/X spectacle, however, it’s a whole lot easier to swallow.” Grade B, AV Club
” …Soderbergh seems solely committed to giving us a quick, mid-budget, ultra-sturdy thriller with no pretensions — the type Hollywood doesn’t really make anymore. This isn’t the best or even most-memorable film on Soderbergh’s resume, but it is a film that does exactly what it sets out to do. Best of all, the filmmaker doesn’t tack on a hacky message about how we should all unplug from our devices…” 7/10 /Film
“Angela’s fears are largely conveyed by the fluidity of Soderbergh’s camera rather than the language of his star’s face and body. When she finally ventures outside, and Kravitz is afforded the opportunity to interact with anyone else, Kimi the film feels as believable and real as Kimi the product. But trapped indoors (however fabulously appointed those indoors are), the star and her film struggle to breathe.” The Globe and the Mail
” …a tautly suspenseful nail-biter […] thanks to tirelessly eclectic director Steven Soderbergh and seasoned screenwriter David Koepp. Lean, mean and enlivened by the filmmakers’ love letter to both Hitchcock and Brian De Palma, this HBO Max premiere riffs knowingly on Rear Window and Blow Out in the age of virtual assistants, all-seeing algorithms, invasive surveillance and snaky tech magnates.” The Hollywood Reporter
“The sheer banality of Angela’s cat-and-mouse game against the corporate assassins on her trail is chilling enough to compensate for the movie’s limited scope, and Soderbergh creates such a vivid sense of plein air claustrophobia — of being caught in a net as wide as a wifi signal — that he can stage an intense action set piece in a public/private space as small as the back seat of a van.” Grade B IndieWire
” …reflects the realities of the surveillance state we have grown eerily comfortable in, even when accounting for the constant threat of data breaches and the looming suspicion that we are constantly being monitored and listened to. Yet for a film that pieces together two incisive and interrelated facets of our current lived experiences, it is apparently uninterested in following through with this connection.” Paste
“Soderbergh […] seems to have a great time just playing in the thriller sandbox, from the elegant simplicity of the third act chase (she’s merely trying to get from one place to another while evading surveillance, but it’s a nail-biter) to the genuinely harrowing bit with an attempted van kidnapping to the delightful mechanics of everything he’s doing in the Wait Until Dark-style climax.” Grade A-, The Playlist
” …the fun of the movie lies in the modestly budgeted sparkle and foreboding ingenuity of Soderbergh’s direction. He’s become the Samuel Fuller of minimalist indie kicks. His filmmaking joy comes through everywhere — in the way that as the (uncredited) cinematographer, he frames each shot like a sentence in a story…” Variety
Release date:
Kimi premiered on HBO Max on February 10th, 2022. It is now available on DVD (but no Blu-ray?) and Amazon Prime
Main cast and characters (in order of appearance):
India de Beaufort … Sharon
Derek DelGaudio … Bradley Hasling
Sarai Koo … Jessica Hasling
Jaime Camil … Antonio Rivas
Koya Harada … Bradley’s Son
Zoë Kravitz … Angela Childs
Devin Ratray … Kevin
Betsy Brantley … Kimi
Byron Bowers … Terry Hughes
Lakin Valdez … Marcos
Robin Givens … Angela’s Mother
Alex Dobrenko … Darious Popescu
Emily Kuroda … Doctor Sarah Burns
Charles Halford … Tall Thug
Jacob Vargas … Glasses Thug
Rita Wilson … Natalie Chowdhury
Filming locations:
Seattle, Washington
Technical details:
1 hour 29 minutes
Fun facts:
The soundtrack includes Oxytocin by Billie Eilish; Inertia Creeps by Massive Attack; Piano Sonata No.23: L’Allegro assai by Beethoven; Piano Sonata No.7: III. Menuetto: Allegro by Beethoven; Sabotage by Beastie Boys and Connection by Elastica.
Trailer:
First ten minutes preview:
