''Life Like'' is a 2019
science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
written and directed by Josh Janowicz in his feature debut, and distributed by
Grindstone Entertainment Group. Its story follows a young couple who purchases a life-like robot named Henry, to care for their newly inherited home, who begins to develop human emotions. The film stars
Steven Strait,
Addison Timlin
Addison Jayne Timlin (born June 29, 1991) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jami Lerner in ''The Town That Dreaded Sundown'' (2014) and Colleen Lunsford in '' Little Sister'' (2016). She is also known for playing Sasha Bingham i ...
,
James D'Arcy
James D'Arcy (born Simon Richard D'Arcy; 24 August 1975) is an English actor and film director. He is known for his portrayals of Howard Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series '' Agent Carter'' and the ...
, and
Drew Van Acker
Drew Van Acker (born April 2, 1986) is an American actor, model and producer. He is known for playing Jason DiLaurentis, the older brother of Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse), on Freeform's ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017) and Ian Archer ...
.
The film was produced by
Lionsgate Films
Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is an American film production and film distribution studio, headquartered in Santa Monica and founded in Canada, and is the flagship division of Lionsgate Entertainment. It is the la ...
and was released on May 14, 2019.
Plot
James is working on the trust fund run by his father. Upon the death of his father, he becomes CEO of the company. James and his wife Sophie move away from the city into a suburban mansion. Sophie doesn't work and spends most of the time at home. Feeling uncomfortable with James having a butler, maid and a cook, she fires them.
James and Sophie meet Julian, a man who sells
artificially intelligent robots to be used as domestic servants. The couple choose a male
android named Henry, who dutifully carries out their commands around the house. However, encouraged by Sophie, who reads to him, Henry begins to develop emotions and have dreams.
Several undercurrents begin to take hold. One evening, Sophie discovers Henry walking outside the house stark naked and somewhat disoriented. Sophie dreams that Henry kisses her while giving her a massage and later masturbates, after which she discovers Henry is outside, asking him if he was watching her. An encounter between James and Henry in the bathroom, who is bringing in a handful of fresh towels, leads to an awkward exchange and then Henry performing
fellatio
Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotu ...
on James. This leads James to question his sexuality. After Henry kisses Sophie while giving her a massage, Sophie is disturbed when Henry mouths "I love you" in the same manner used by James. Sophie tells James of the encounter and James becomes enraged, slapping Henry and disconnecting his charging station.
Julian is discovered to be a fraud. All of his machines are revealed to be real humans he had raised; Julian had taken custody of Henry when Henry was a small child rejected by his mother and suffered serious physical abuse. He had raised all of them to believe they were androids. Two
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
agents go to James and Sophie's residence to arrest Julian, but Julian shoots them with a shotgun. Julian then turns his weapon on James and Sophie, but Henry attacks Julian, beating him mercilessly with the shotgun. Feeling betrayed by his maker and ashamed that he has betrayed his keepers, Henry commits
seppuku with a large knife. James and Sophie cry and console Henry as he dies.
Five years later, James and Sophie are shown with a young son named Henry whom they plan to someday tell about his namesake.
Cast
*
Drew Van Acker
Drew Van Acker (born April 2, 1986) is an American actor, model and producer. He is known for playing Jason DiLaurentis, the older brother of Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse), on Freeform's ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017) and Ian Archer ...
as James
*
Addison Timlin
Addison Jayne Timlin (born June 29, 1991) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jami Lerner in ''The Town That Dreaded Sundown'' (2014) and Colleen Lunsford in '' Little Sister'' (2016). She is also known for playing Sasha Bingham i ...
as Sophie
*
Steven Strait as Henry
*
James D'Arcy
James D'Arcy (born Simon Richard D'Arcy; 24 August 1975) is an English actor and film director. He is known for his portrayals of Howard Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series '' Agent Carter'' and the ...
as Julian
Production
Though director Josh Janowicz has directed many commercials and several short films, ''Life Like'' is his first feature-length film.
Home media
The film was released on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
disc formats, as well as through digital and
on-demand channels, by
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
on May 14, 2019,
earning $74,853.
Critical response
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Life Like
2019 films
2019 drama films
2019 directorial debut films
2019 LGBT-related films
2019 science fiction films
2010s science fiction drama films
American LGBT-related films
American science fiction drama films
2010s English-language films
LGBT-related science fiction drama films
2010s American films