You’re cordially invited to a new kind of love story… one of companionship. A new look at relationships soars to new heights with the movie ‘Companion’. With a juicy plot and line delivery so scrumptious it was easy to devour. This punchy tech-forward film resonated with the group of Gen Z able to dive deeper into the material
Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema allowed students from 8 universities to gather virtually for a discussion with the cast and director Drew Hancock. Stars Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid propel this dark and twisted R-rated sci-fi/horror film into a relatable and thought-provoking film on the dating world and where we are today.
This is a story about a break up, if you stripped away all the scifi and all the technology, Iris’s story is something everyone can kind of relate to- Drew Hancock on the true purpose of Companion.
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Where love builds and dissolves
The movie starts as a love story between a young woman and a man going on a friend’s vacation and it dissolves into a different take on your usual horror comedy film. You are slowly entering the world of Companion one scene at a time as the pieces continue to grow throughout the world-building done within the movie.
This film discusses many layers from the complexities of technology, male vulnerability and the commodification of women in relationships. YellowJackets star Sophie Thatcher and The Boys Jack Quaid push the boundaries of your run-of-the-mill couple. Thatcher and Quaid shared their love for the film script and boundary-pushing discussion on dating.
Quaid shared that his character Josh a man longing for dominance and control within his life was one of the most insecure characters he’s played in his life, “He needs Iris to make himself feel like he has any value.” Thatcher’s character Iris, a bright-eyed girl with nothing but adoration for her partner discussed the vulnerability of playing a character emotionally void of their feelings. She shared not want to lose herself in a role like this, especially as she’s felt similar sentiments to Iris previously.
I think we’ve all been in relationships where you lose yourself and you’re just giving so much that you don’t know who you are and lose your sense of self. I went in with a lot of empathy for her as a character.
We bring the drama Mama
Harvey Guillén a man who not only brought comedic timing but a different level of self-awareness. Guillén shared how he knew that his character Eli’s trajectory of being a likable and snarky fun behavior would have to shine through on screen. “We do see that he does genuinely love Lukas’s character and when we see a shift happen it hurts a little bit more.”
Lukas Gage shared how his character Patrick and the casting created the importance of having diverse couples inside a film like this. He spoke on the real ways friendship and love look today through the marketing of this film. “I think it’s an interesting conversation of male loneliness in particular in a straight and queer relationship.”
Megan Suri known as the seductive and cunning character Kat in the film explained the complexities of being a Brown woman and what the social currency of being a woman in this film allowed her to feel and move creatively.
She is so much more than what we innitially see and she has so much more depth than what we initially are aware of. I think this is indeciative of so many women of color too, we are percieved a ceratin way or we’re told to act a certain way but we’re allowed to be messy and unapologetically who we are.
Unbox this companion
When asked about this film the cast all discussed finding yourself outside of a relationship. “We sometimes accept the love we think we deserve,” Guillén says. The cast and Drew Hancock agree that you have to love yourself first before you try to feel that void. From the underlying 60s flare, nailbiting scenes making you long for more and thought-provoking dialogue begging the question of, “I need more” Companion tackles the topic of where love meets technology dead on.
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“Companion” will be released in theatres on Jan. 31st. Let us know your thoughts on X @VALLEYmag!