It’s A Fembot-enomenon: The Takedown of Toxic Masculinity in Companion

In an age of infinite discourse and a time when conversations around misogyny or technology – as well as what that lethal combo brings about – dominate headlines, Companion arrives as a cultural reset. A playful gut punch of a film, it daringly delves into topics you’d expect might be tired, but Companion adds a freshness rare to achieve in our overstimulated and oversaturated age. Holding up a mirror to humanity’s darkest impulses, the film leaves us with a message as clear as you could hope for: don’t be an incel. 

Drew Hancock’s directorial debut digs into this with force, examining how technology has become a scapegoat for societal ills and that the blame isn’t one-sided: Jack Quaid’s Josh, the film’s male lead, learns this lesson the hard way. At the heart of both the story and the allegory, though, is Sophie Thatcher’s Iris who we meet as the ideal match for Josh. The love link has well and truly been established, she’s gentle, complimentary, thoughtful (but not too clever), perfect (if a little socially anxious), everything an insecure man could want and more. 

A victim to her boyfriend’s toxicity, yes, but Iris is trapped for another reason too – the fact that she’s a robot, his robot to be precise. This reveal – which is given away in the trailer – is when the movie really begins. The film’s feminist undertones are particularly striking, as it explores how our lead Iris navigates a world, and a relationship, where her agency is constantly challenged. It’s themes like these that make sense for a movie exploring A.I., of course, but they make sense simply as a film about life as a woman too. 

It’s a trope long considered in media, the boy-next-door who just really wants to get the girl, the specific girl. It’s not his fault that not getting her makes him so mad, he’s just lonely, he needs a companion. From the softboi versions like Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Xander Harris to the extremism of Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle, writers and directors have long jumped into the psyche of isolated men. Men whose frustrations with powerlessness manifest in increasingly darker ways, consumed by societal decay, like Travis, or angered by the decisions of the woman he desires, like Xander.

Highlighting the sinister ways toxic masculinity and cultural isolation can fester, Companion turns this on its head, taking us out of the male gaze and into the fembot’s. It begs the question, is it fair to treat a woman like you would treat a robot? Or, even more pointedly, a robot like you would treat a woman?

“This one is for the girls who stay single on Valentine’s Day BY CHOICE” one Letterboxd review jokes. It’s an experience enough to turn a fembot into a femcel, in fact, AKA the self-proclaimed misandrists of the internet who – unlike their male counterparts – simply have had enough of men’s bad behaviour. In the wake of the overturning of Roe v Wade, of Trump’s second term, films like Companion are vital. Capturing the feminine experience, whether in a twisting and turning satirical thriller, or through the work of lyrical artists like Paris Paloma, or poetic feminist readings by creators like Madeline Aford on TikTok, is an act of resistance to the growing norms.

Unlike its perceived peers like M3GAN, Ex Machina or Subservience, this isn’t just a film about technology gone awry, it’s about us – the flawed creators of the machines we’ve grown to fear. From its unsettling exploration of sexism to its sharp commentary on the ways we abuse innovation to uphold existing power dynamics, Companion dismantles the trope of “A.I. gone wrong” and tells us the problem isn’t the robots, but the humans who are programming them.

With a sharply written storyline that balances biting satire and psychological tension, Companion compels its audience to reflect not just on the dangers of A.I., but on the systems of oppression we’ve built and continue to reinforce. And all the while, it’s a wonderful watch: Sophie nails the humorous moments, cinematographer Eli Born creates an eerily beautiful atmosphere, and Hrishikesh Hirway’s score transports you into Iris’ ethereal world.