Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial” premiered at the New York Film Festival Monday night, and early reviews have members of the film press championing the Sam Altman-centered movie as a “provocative,” “visceral corporate drama” and the director’s “best film in a decade.” Next Best Picture editor-in-chief and critic Matt Neglia wrote that “Artificial” is “as entertaining as it is terrifying.” “It’s a brilliantly written human story about power, control, ambition, and greed that might be the most urgently relevant film of our time. Andrew Garfield delivers one of his most unsettling and transformative performances as Sam Altman, equally capturing his disarming charm and unnerving malice.” He continued: “Yura Borisov is magnificent as the brilliant mind behind OpenAI, wrestling with the moral implications of the creation he has helped unleash upon the world with intelligence and empathy. Damon Albarn’s electronic, atmospheric score perfectly sets the mood for this tech-driven narrative, while Guadagnino’s cinematic flourishes are bountiful, resulting in what may be his funniest and scariest film to date.
Provocative, engaging, and downright horrifying, it’s the movie of the moment that we may not even be able to look back on if the vision of the future it presents comes true.” Editor Eric Kohn called the film a “pitch-perfect dark comedy.” “Andrew Garfield walks a fine line between movie monster, buffoonish mogul, and evil genius. A fun/scary ride that embodies the paradox at its center,” he wrote on X. An essential film.” Variety’s Clayton Davis wrote that “Artificial” is “Guadagnino’s best film in a decade” and “Andrew Garfield and Yura Borisov soar to new heights.
Loved.” Set during the tumultuous time when Altman, OpenAI’s CEO (played by Andrew Garfield), was fired and then rehired by the AI giant in 2023, “Artificial” has faced its own challenges getting to theaters; in June, Neon closed a deal to complete the $40 million film after Amazon MGM Studios dropped the project months earlier after the company signed a major partnership with OpenAI, including a $50 billion investment. Despite how hot-button some may feel the film is, Guadagnino told Vulture that he wasn’t “afraid” of Altman’s — or anyone depicted in the film’s — response. Jason Schwartzman, Zosia Mamet, Cooper Hoffman, Chris O’Dowd, Cooper Koch and Billie Lourd also appear in the film.
Ahead of the premiere’s conclusion, Variety exclusively reported that Neon’s awards campaign for the film will include Garfield and Rylance competing in the supporting actor category and Borisov campaigning in lead actor. Barbaro will vie for supporting actress. Check out first reactions in the posts below.
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