Berlinale 2021: I’M YOUR MAN

“You have no idea how hard it is to program flirting”, says a woman (Sandra Hüller) to Alma (Maren Eggert), after her date, Tom (Dan Stevens) tilts in the middle of the dance floor and has to be carried away by a group of men. The two had met just a few minutes earlier, Alma bombarding the perfectly groomed suitor with a series of almost academic questions, from the lines of his favourite poem to complex mathematical equations, all queries promptly responded without a moment of hesitation.

Not your average kind of guy

Tom is not your common beau, in fact, he is not your common anything. Despite his perfectly ordinary appearance, the man is a humanoid, a robot programmed to match every single one of his other half’s requirements. In this case, the lucky lady is Alma, a successful anthropologist whose professional credentials and relationship status grant her a placement as a tester, someone enlisted to evaluate the ethical merits of having a machine integrate society. Before she can fully process the situation, Tom is wheeling his luggage into her apartment. 

It doesn’t take long for the imposed cohabiting to irritate Alma, whose carefully planned routine has no room for unplanned disturbances. Tom cooks perfect breakfasts, reorganises her books, and manically cleans every surface of the space, his eagerness the one of a healthy golden retriever. “My algorithm is designed to make you happy”, he states, almost as an apology and, although Alma’s mind is one equally as prone to reading life with the calculated tone of an algorithm, she craves the unpredictable, the erratic. Tom’s resistance to conflict, his automated passivity, makes it impossible for Alma to perceive him as anything remotely human, her scepticism shifting from discontent to rage. 

A delightful display of charisma

Dan Stevens is pitch-perfect as he brings lifeless to life, his performance doused in the comedic charisma he delightfully displayed in last year’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. The British actor – here in perfect German – imbues Tom with calculated yet charming mannerisms, his affable nature the perfect balance to Eggert’s uptight demeanour. As the two grow closer, Maria Schrader manages to avoid the troupe of clichés inherent to the beaten premise, crafting a wholeheartedly enjoyable romantic comedy that is unafraid of dipping into the existential. 

The cinematography goes from a dream-like texture, with pastel tones and bright, iridescent lights, to a clean, unaltered look as Alma shifts her perception of Tom from an inconceivable notion, a delirium, to something feasible. In a pivotal scene, the couple is immersed in blue, Alma allowing herself to place old neurosis on a shelf and experiment a touch of the happiness Tom seems to mention time and time again. In this moment of careless, unrestrained joy, she finally reaches a cathartic release. It is as poignant as it is lovely. 

Irresistibly charming, I’m Your Man needs no beeps and boops and tiring gimmicks to convey the abyss between man vs machine. As Alma slowly learns to let go of notions as pre-dated as the ancient tablets she researches, her idea of true happiness is uprooted and, amidst bursts of confident comedic relief, the film beautifully employs the artificial to communicate the most human of feelings: the fear of loneliness.

What is your favourite film about humanoids? Tell us in the comments!

I’m Your Man screened as part of Berlinale 2021.