Review: KIMI
Steven Soderbergh returns to HBO Max with his latest film, KIMI, and delivers a tight and pulse-pounding thriller that rivals the level of tension he perfected in the Ocean’s trilogy. Soderbergh’s team-up with screenwriter David Koepp and composer Cliff Martinez is a match made in heaven. Not a single moment is wasted once protagonist Angela Childs (Zoë Kravitz) gets out of her apartment to solve a potential crime.
Childs has become agoraphobic following a traumatic incident that occurred a few months after her father’s death. The current COVID-19 situation doesn’t help her condition, and she prefers to isolate herself from the rest of the world rather than go outside. This makes her well-suited for her work for the Amygdala Corporation, where she reviews data streams for KIMI, an Alexa-like home device, to troubleshoot potential malfunctions. While listening to a muffled stream, Angela overhears what she believes to be a murder and immediately reports it to her boss (Rita Wilson). What she doesn’t know is that the murderer happens to be the CEO of the Amygdala Corporation (Derek DelGaudio), and he is looking to eliminate anyone who may know about his crime.
KIMI starts out as a rather conventional Rear Window-esque suspense film until it morphs into something completely different, akin to the game of cat-and-mouse found in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, raised to the eleventh power. Essentially, this is Soderbergh’s tribute to Hitchcock’s greatest hits, with Cliff Martinez evoking Bernard Hermann through his score. Soderbergh’s (as his pseudonym Peter Andrews) cinematography is quite simple during the first half, visually representing Angela’s stable, safe environment. Slow pans and methodical cuts are his preferred visual choices up until Angela gets out of her apartment, surprising everyone who knows her in the process. Her agoraphobia is represented through a high-pitched ring as she tries to mask out the thought of going outside to meet a neighbor (Byron Bowers), but can’t bring herself to do it.
It’s all the more surprising that when her boss tells her to come to her office, something clicks inside her head—this is something she must do. As soon as she walks out the door, the camera becomes more erratic and fast-moving as the film’s pace immediately intensifies and never lets up. Every subsequent scene is riddled with tension, with Angela fully knowing she can’t trust anyone, but believing she’s doing the right thing by coming in and explaining the situation to her boss. It doesn’t take long before a group of henchmen go after her, leading up to a drawn-out on-foot chase sequence recalling Koepp’s Premium Rush, which progressively builds up to one heck of a climax.
Without giving anything away, its execution is so stylish that only a madman like Steven Soderbergh could’ve crafted something quite like this. At the same time, it’s oddly familiar as a tribute to a Hitchcockian ending, where the suspense reaches its apex, and the audience experiences massive catharsis. Soderbergh’s cinematography, editing (as his other pseudonym Mary Ann Bernard), and Martinez’s score amplify the palpable stress to near-unbearable heights as Angela faces the antagonists who want her dead.
Running at 89 minutes, KIMI follows a taut three-act structure but amplifies its simplicity through its aesthetic choices and incredible performances. I’m confident enough to say that this is Zoë Kravitz’s best work yet. She is able to channel a slew of emotions ranging from calm and composed to frightened and unnerved, as she goes outside and immediately gets embroiled in a conflict that’s way beyond her control.. She’s joined by Rita Wilson, Byron Bowers, Derek DelGaudio, and Andy Daly in extended cameos that wonderfully complement Kravitz’s lead performance.
While KIMI fails at delivering its ultimately half-baked commentary on the effects of isolation from the COVID-19 lockdown, it more than makes up for it with its simple premise executed brilliantly. Elevated by an electric performance by Zoë Kravitz, sweeping cinematography, and tight editing, KIMI is Steven Soderbergh's best movie since he came out of retirement with Logan Lucky. Now, one hopes he won’t retire in the short-term, because we are extremely lucky to have him making movies again. No one ever does it like Soderbergh, and no one ever will.
