Bicentennial Male (1999)

Directed by: Chris Columbus | 132 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill, Oliver Platt, Kiersten Warren, Wendy Crewson, Hallie Eisenberg, Lindze Letherman, Angela Landis, John Michael Higgins, Bradley Whitford, Igor Hiller, Joe Bellan, Brett Wagner, Stephen Root

Robin Williams and Chris Columbus – it remains a winning combination. In ‘Bicentennial Man’, based on a short story by Isaac Asimov, Columbus directs Williams as Andrew Martin, a robot who slowly transforms into a human over its two centuries of life. The result is a moving, but sometimes unnecessarily sentimental story.

We get to know Andrew as the house robot of the Martin family. Although he comes from a production line, Andrew appears to have unique qualities – he has a great learning ability and is very creative. One day his “master” offers him freedom, after which Andrew starts his own life. He makes friends and gives himself a human appearance. Gradually he develops a real personality and emotions, after which he also falls in love. However, the government does not recognize him as a person, so he cannot get married. Being a robot, he doesn’t grow old, so he sees all his friends and loved ones die around him.

The normally exuberant Williams portrays a modest, modest Andrew who immediately wins the viewer’s sympathy. In his innocence and curiosity, he teaches everyone around him to look at life differently. A whole host of moral issues come up, such as slavery (can an intelligent robot be someone’s ‘property’?), property rights (does a robot have a right to own property?) and the right to marry (a reference to same-sex marriage, of course). The film takes the time to do this, so that it does not become an excess of fleeting issues. But in the end, ‘Bicentennial Man’ isn’t really a political film – it’s a character film, about Andrew’s life and journey. Williams’ indestructible ability to be sympathetic makes him the anchor of the film. Sam Neill (‘Jurassic Park’) and Embeth Davidtz (‘Schindler’s List’, ‘Matilda’) give good counterplay (Davidtz even in a double role), but in the end the film revolves around Williams.

Here and there the sentiment gets a bit too over the top, giving the film a slightly too high ‘Disney feel’ where more serious sci-fi would have worked better. Columbus doesn’t seem to be able to choose whether to make a family film or a more serious drama. Although there is also something to be said for ‘Bicentennial Man’ combining the best of both worlds.