To be completely honest with you, I forgot about Love Me. Entering last year’s Sundance Film Festival with a ton of buzz as a romance starring Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun, what audiences discovered was how oddly abstract the premise was. See, Stewart plays a technologically advanced buoy floating in the ocean, with Yeun as a satellite in the sky. The two fall in love in a post-apocalyptic world devoid of humanity.
Yeah, it’s as weird as it sounds, but jurors at the festival dug it. The film took home the Alfred P. Sloane Award which is geared towards tech and science-based projects. And if you’re confused as to how Stewart and Yeun can play mechanical constructs, just know that they begin to design an entire digital world, based on old social media postings, to see their love story through.
The film is written and directed by newcomers Sam Zuchero and Andrew Zuchero.
Here’s the synopsis: Long after humanity’s extinction, a buoy (Kristen Stewart) and a satellite (Steven Yeun) inherit the Earth, and with only the internet as their guide, learn what it means to be alive and in love. In this groundbreaking first feature from Sam and Andy Zuchero, LOVE ME explores AI and identity through live-action, animatronics, and classic animation in an epic tale of connection and transformation.
Look, this movie was not for me. I appreciate its ambition but the premise is too silly and the steps taken to try and have it make sense are ridiculous. What I remember most was listening to the cast try to describe the film and they were flailing miserably. Clearly, they didn’t get it, either.
All of that said, I already know some people will connect with it and I hope those people find this movie and check it out.
Bleecker Street will open Love Me in theaters on January 24th.
