Release Date – 20th October 2023, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 50 minutes, Director – Garth Davis
A young couple (Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal) find their secluded lives disrupted when one is forced into taking part in a space mission for the next home for humanity.
“I need this stuff” Paul Mescal desperately says as he tries to cling to his earthly possessions before being sent to space. The days are dwindling before he’s sent away for a two-year mission he’s been ‘randomly selected’ for in order to research the next steps for humanity, after the planet has been in a years-long drought. It may be hard to say goodbye to his He-Man action figure, but it’s taking even more of a strain on his relationship to wife Hen (Saoirse Ronan).
The pair are trying to move forward as usual, however the constant appearances of Aaron Pierre’s Terrance – making sure that Junior (Mescal) is properly preparing for his mission – make things more difficult. Even more so when he begins to probe the couple about their lives, thoughts and emotions in order to make a clone of Junior for Hen while he’s gone. Why they can’t just make a clone to send to space instead of separating the couple is a matter nobody seems to think of.
As the weeks pass the relationship drama at hand remains a slow-burn. Things are watchable but not always gripping due to the gradual pacing not always creating the most investing set of events. The film as a whole is rather restrained and aiming for some form of naturalism and while there are patches of achievement here as a whole things aren’t always wholly engaging due to how drawn-out certain sequences are – especially the closing stages which border on reinforcing the point multiple times.
Good performances from the central trio help to keep some engagement, but don’t detract from some of the slightly basics feel at hand. The stripped back nature occasionally leads to a somewhat lacking feel overall as every now and then you wish that the film would just push itself that slight bit more. Not in terms of enhancing the sci-fi elements, they generally work well providing context and backing for the events at hand; but in terms of adding a bit more depth and engagement to the unfolding drama as the relationship could threaten to tear before the characters even get the chance to properly say goodbye, particularly with how unready they are to do so. The final result is something watchable, but not entirely engaging due to how slowly things move forward, despite how the film tries to pose the ticking clock to ‘goodbye’.
A stripped back sci-fi relationship drama, you sometimes find yourself wishing Foe would push itself a bit more amongst its watchable, yet slow, progression.
Just A Little Bit Random 