Foe, review: Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal in a lifeless dystopian sci-fi
The main problem with Foe, the new film from Australia’s Garth Davis, is that it’s lacking in fee, fi and fum. This pensive science-fiction three-hander, adapted by the Lion and Mary Magdalene director and Iain Reid from the latter’s 2018 novel, quickly settles into its solemn, elliptical groove – and then sticks to it so doggedly, it becomes a tonal rut from which the film increasingly struggles to escape.
There are shots of the parched American prairie at magic hour, elegantly crumbling farmhouses, desolate battery farms, strange headlights tracking down dirt roads at dusk – and then an awful lot more of all of these, while you find yourself itching for a bit of incident to liven things up.
There’s probably enough of that here for a decent one-act play with Tennessee Williams overtones. And running time aside, that is largely what Foe resembles, with its attractive young couple, Paul Mescal’s Junior and Saoirse Ronan’s Hen, with their dewy brows and vest-based wardrobe, and Aaron Pierre’s enigmatic visitor, whose presence eats away at their already perishing bond.
It’s 2065, and Junior, the latest in a long line of farmers, has been conscripted by the US government to work a two-year shift on Outermore, a space station which will serve as humanity’s refuge as the Earth’s climate collapses. And what of Hen? Well, once Junior is out of the picture, she’ll be consoled by his AI-powered clone, and Pierre’s Terrance has ostensibly come to stay to harvest enough psychological data from Junior to ensure a seamless switch.
As the handsome Pierre smilingly sets out their fate, it becomes clear that a twist of some sort is in store. And credit to Davis and Reid: the revelation of its precise nature – which prompts the viewer to mentally replay the plot to ensure it stands up, which it mostly does – does land as an unsettling surprise.
As Junior’s departure date nears, Ronan and Mescal play the shifts in their relationship fervently and thoughtfully: the two young Irish actors, both playing American, make a watchable screen couple, and the growing strain between them smarts. But they also have one of those marriages that don’t exist outside of films like this one, where conversation is only ever crisp and intense, and typically conducted with a faraway look on a peeling veranda, while the wind flaps both parties’ fringes around.
Foe skilfully evokes that atmosphere, with photography by Son of Saul’s Mátyás Erdély that spins a convincing dystopia largely from present-day locations. But the thinness of its plot leaves the film itself feeling somewhat like another’s blank-slate doppelg?nger: the mood persuades, but sci-fi cannot live by vibes alone.
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