The Pod Generation, 2023.
Written and Directed by Sophie Barthes.
Starring Emilia Clarke, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rosalie Craig, Vinette Robinson, Kathryn Hunter, and Jean-Marc Barr.
SYNOPSIS:
In a not-so-distant future, tech giant Pegazus offers couples the opportunity to share their pregnancies via detachable artificial wombs or pods. And so begins Rachel and Alvy’s wild ride to parenthood in this brave new world.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, The Pod Generation wouldn’t exist.
The future presented in Sophie Barthes’ The Pod Generation is a familiar nightmare, but one made more unsettling due to its atmospheric specificity to where real life currently seems to be headed.
Technology dominates every facet of the world, including having wiped out plants and nature in favor of holographic replacements. AI has a stranglehold on society more than ever, now working as therapists (a giant eyeball attached to a wall communicating with a reassuring but somewhat ominous voice) or with improved Alexa-like devices that give suggestions and everything from what the owner should wear to work, to reminders ensuring mental decompression is squeezed into the day, people making bank selling NFTs, and practically anything you can think of that is looming over life as we know it, ready to ramp up and get worse. Everything depicted here in this modern-day future also has a distinct visually appealing look to it, but sadly, the film doesn’t have much else going for it.
Sophie Barthes uses this world as a window into the lives of married couple Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy Novy Chiwetel Ejiofor), a pairing who could not be any more different with a script that doesn’t seem concerned about elaborating on why or how they got together in the first place. It feels like they are in love because there wouldn’t be a movie otherwise, without realizing that if there is an attempt to express or show what gravitated them towards each other in the first place, their arguments over naturalness and artificiality would carry more weight.
As for the technology itself, the film focuses on an artificial way of creating and birthing life into the world by placing the necessary biological ingredients into a membrane that is then stored in a glossy pod (considering the presence of Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke here, the Mother of Dragons herself, it’s also hard not to think of them as futuristic dragon eggs.) To be clear, Rachel and Alvy do want a child one day, but that process becomes sped up once a spot opens up on the waitlist from the shady company running these procedures and taking care of the pods, which are nestled inside docks like standard electronic devices and controlled through phone apps.
Alvy reasonably understands the toll that natural child labor and birth takes on a woman, but is a naturalist through and through. One would assume at some point before they were married, they would have already discussed their opposing viewpoints on how to have a child, but alas, here we are. Even their jobs bleed into how different they are, with Rachel working for the manufacture of the Alexa- style devices, and Alvy as a botanist doing his damnedest to keep teaching a university course with real nature.
If one is able to buy into this illogical relationship, that doesn’t mean the script knows what it’s doing with its sci-fi concept. The film is constantly switching up the angle it is approaching this satire as if it doesn’t know what to say whenever it does land on an idea. That’s also a shame since there are some clever, funny ones here, such as Alvy doing his best to bond with the baby inside the pod during a stay-at-home session by strapping it to his back and bringing it wherever he goes; it’s a silly play on male pregnancy made more engaging by Chiwetel Ejiofor bringing some personality to the role. The rest is just these two characters navigating whatever questions and concerns arise from this unorthodox pregnancy, taking care of the pod, and trying to see each other’s perspective.
In theory, it makes sense that the technology-obsessed characters come across as more removed and cold, but the issue is that nothing enlightening or profound comes from the situations they are placed in. Then there is the evil corporation subplot, complete with mysterious dreams from Rachel where she is actually pregnant, that is also colossally wasted.
There’s usually something to praise about a movie that’s not easy to solve where it’s going to end up, but The Pod Generation has a true “Oh… I guess that’s it, and that was rather underwhelming” climax. The world and concept here are fascinating, but the film is done a disservice by not sticking to one idea and digging deep into it.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published December 27, 2023. Updated December 28, 2023.
