Netflix releases the I Am Mother trailer and poster. Helmed by first-time feature director Grant Sputore, the science fiction thriller stars Oscar winner Hilary Swank, newcomer Clara Rugaard, and Rose Byrne in a voice role. I Am Mother first premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
In I Am Mother, Byrne voices the titular character, a robot who raises an unnamed girl (Rugaard) after the human race almost goes extinct. Incidentally, the lone survivor learns to trust the only mother she knows - the only being she knows. Everything changes when Swank’s unnamed character appears, a wounded woman who suggests that Mother may not be telling her “daughter” the full truth. The girl is raised to believe she’s responsible for repopulating the earth, but the stranger’s arrival calls her existence into question. Based on a screenplay by Michael Lloyd Green, I Am Mother was produced in Australia. The film’s young star, Rugaard, recently appeared as Roxy in Max Minghella’s 2018 film Teen Spirit starring Elle Fanning.
Netflix released a trailer for I Am Mother. At nearly three minutes in length, the clip begins with the young girl’s origin story. Byrne’s robot character explains that humanity’s second chance begins with the “Daughter,” and that the world outside is “lifeless.” By the trailer’s second minute, Swank makes her first appearance as the mysterious stranger, and the editing suggests that Mother isn’t too pleased about the guest’s arrival and conversations with the alleged savior of humanity. An industrial score drives the trailer’s final segment, and it punctuates the increasing doubt felt by Rugaard’s character. Passing visuals like a notebook full of scribbles set the stage for a battle sequence, and the final moments tease a confrontation outside the primary interior setting. In addition, a flashback montage suggests there’s a much larger picture to consider. Check out the I Am Mother trailer and poster below.
For Byrne, I Am Mother marks the second of three prominent voice roles in new feature films. Last year, the Australian actress voiced Jemima Puddle-Duck in Will Gluck’s live-action/computer-animated comedy film Peter Rabbit, and she voiced the title character for Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s upcoming comedy Lexi, in which a man falls in love with his phone’s artificial intelligence. While Byrne has a long history of dramatic roles, most notably in the X-Men and Insidious franchises, she’s established herself as a popular mainstream comedic actress. Considering Byrne’s entire filmography, the dramatic voice role in I Am Mother represents something entirely new.
Based on the trailer for I Am Mother, there will undoubtedly be comparisons to Alex Garland’s 2014 science fiction psychological thriller Ex Machina. For one, I Am Mother’s Rugaard bears a striking resemblance to Alicia Vikander, and both films feature contained settings, with the protagonists secluded from the outside world. But whereas Ex Machina’s higher power is portrayed by a man, I Am Mother features two female characters - one human, one robotic - with something to prove. Hopefully, Netflix’s I Am Mother trailer doesn’t give too much away about the connection between the “Daughter” and the mysterious stranger.
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I Am Mother will premiere Juny 7 on Netflix.
Source: Netflix
