Okay, so maybe “love” is a strong word, but I did thoroughly enjoy Love Me, the new rom-com sci-fi drama currently in theaters. When I watch a film, or engage in any storytelling medium, there’s a particular intersection that I yearn for, a sweet spot where both art and entertainment converge and meld. It’s in this spot that I find Love Me nestled. The audience is fed all the sappy hallmarks of a very traditional love story (the meet-cute, the will-they-won’t-they, etc.) though the setting and characters involved are anything but traditional. The term “star-crossed lovers” is also given new meaning here seeing as the sun is swelling and one of the two protagonists actually resides amongst the stars: a satellite orbiting Earth, looking to communicate via internet with any still-existing lifeforms. The satellite is named Iam and is voiced and sometimes played in live-action by Steven Yuen of Walking Dead fame. Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart, known best for her role in another romance, Twilight, plays Me, a “smart buoy” floating in the rising, post-apocalyptic ocean, looking for a connection. The two, of course, do eventually connect and begin talking to one another, Kristen Stewart pretending to be an organic life form on the planet’s surface so that the satellite won’t disconnect from her, because it’s lonely being one of the only two consciousnesses left in the known universe.
Though I must admit that I’m a sucker for a love story, I’m happy to say that Love Me is more than just good rom-com feels with relatable, sympathetic characters and plot points. I’m also happy to say that it is more than just science fiction schlock; it’s what the best sci-fi should be, an examination of the human condition. In fact, Love Me is full of philosophical questions, even if many end up being a little on the nose or overly-simplified for general audiences. But there is some decent stuff here, like exploring self and identity, reflected in the character of Me, as well as asking questions regarding existence, reflected in the character of Iam, likely deriving his name from René Descartes’ famous philosophical phrase, “I think, therefore I am.” The film continues to play with these ponderings, even including some aspects of theories such as the simulation hypothesis.
Furthermore, the story is also a critique and commentary about love in the modern day, love on social media. Iam, the satellite, contains all of what is left of humanity: civilization’s history, music, movies, YouTube videos, and even dating profiles. When Me, the buoy, connects to the internet through Iam, she finds a vlog about a couple and it’s through these vlogs that Me develops her personality and expectations of what a relationship is and could be with Iam. It’s not exactly the most profound or the most subtle, but the critique being made is centered around individuals comparing their relationship to those advertised and commodified by influencers and celebrities and anyone else trying to portray their perfect lives, in their perfect relationships, with their perfect love.
However, like publicized relationships, it’s not all perfect. Though Love Me seems to take cues from WALL-E and has some light references to 2001: A Space Odyssey, the film felt to me more like a feature-length episode of Love, Death, And Robots. I adore LDR (the animated sci-fi anthology series on Netflix made up of short films), though a 92-minute episode (the run-time of Love Me) could be a little long. Unfortunately, the pacing of Love Me does feel slow at times, some scenes and plot beats are repetitive, both of which can be especially felt on rewatch. Furthermore, the size of the story can feel “stripped-down” at best or “limited” at worst (despite having an entire solar system at stake), seeing as most of the film takes place in three locations: space, the ocean, or the influencers’ apartment.
Recently, I found an old story I’d written for a college creative writing course, about a robot falling in love (real cliché stuff). The professor marked my paper stating, “Could a robot feel love in the sense you have this one doing? I read recently that we’ll never be able to create an artificial intelligence that can feel emotion, because emotion is a response to sensory input, and sensory input can’t be experienced in the necessary way without an organic body. I’m sure you could create a sci-fi explanation to get around that…” Love Me creates just the explanation my professor wanted and finds incredibly interesting and original ways of investigating this conundrum.
I think the best word for my movie-going experience was “charming.” When I left the theater, my heart strings were tugged, my mind expanded. I had enough philosophical ponderings and lasting emotional resonance to reflect on, for maybe not years, but at least the next few days. I felt, honestly, in what I deem a rare state for myself- rather satisfied. And what I think is so rewarding about films like Love Me is that you can analyze and discuss them for hours. But doing so here would spoil too much. Instead, I suggest you check it out for yourself.
