Movie Review – Finch – Beautifully Told SciFi Movie
Table of Contents
My Rating – 4 out of 5
Plot Summary (Storyline) – Finch
Director Miguel Sapochnik has brought to screen a winner! Though, as far as I’m concerned, any movie with Tom Hanks in it is very much watchable, even though he may not always win an award with it. The poignancy and warmth that he brings to each character that he’s portrayed till date are incredible and as he evolves into an elderly statesmanlike character, it becomes even more adorable. In this movie, he is the only human character in a post-apocalyptic world, and he revels in the role that kind of focus puts on him. He is a person who, I’m sure, makes the director’s work that much more easier, with the strength that he brings through his acting prowess.
Tom Hanks plays the titular character of Finch Weinberg – a lonely scientist in St. Louis, USA, living with his dog, Goodyear, and a handyman robot, Dewey. The world around him has been devastated by a cataclysmic event when a solar flare has destroyed most of the earth’s ozone layer. Mankind has more or less been evaporated as slight exposure to sunlight results in getting fried! He forages for food and in his free time is building a humanoid robot with AI programmed in. For the memory of the robot, he feeds in all the books in his library, with the ultimate goal that the robot can look after the dog in the absence of its human master.
Finch: Moving at night presents that which is not predictable. People.
Tom Hanks explains the risks to his Robot Jeff in Finch
But while building the robot, he receives a weather warning that a superstorm is about to hit St.Louis, which will wipe out whatever is left of it. With little time left on his hands, Finch decides to leave his lab and travel to San Francisco – which seems to be far away from the storm’s path. But the robot is only updated with 72% memory till now, but they have no option but to run. He leaves with Goodyear, Dewey, and the yet unnamed robot for the 1800 mile journey, in his solar-powered Chevrolet Fleetwood RV.
The robot, which grows in both EQ and IQ along the way, begs to be named and is thereafter called Jeff – the only one he could think of which was not the name of a dog! Thus begins an epic journey through the devastated wasteland that was once a beautiful country, through multiple challenges, dangers, and most importantly acquired learnings of love, care, and trust. Finch is terminally ill and doesn’t look like he’s going to make it to San Francisco, and Jeff evolves like a de-facto son to him. Caring for him when he has a fever, learning how to drive, foraging for food, and caring for the dog – Jeff learns it all!
Conclusion – Movie Review of Finch
The latter part of the movie is where the movie is at its poignant and heart-touching best. It tugs at your heartstrings to see that a mechanical contraption acquire the emotional ethos of a good human being, despite not being one.
The cinematography by Jo Willems is fantastic, bringing to life (metaphorically) the wasteland and dreary deserts of a devastated earth. The background score is suitably played – headlined by Don McLean’s 1971 hit “American Pie” – both as a soundtrack as well as hummed by Tom Hanks. A feel-good movie and a must-watch for Tom Hanks fans!
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