Director Garth Davis On Foe And How Sci-Fi Questions Our Existence

Set in 2065, Foe, directed by Garth Davis (Lion) and starring Academy Awards nominees Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal, makes us question our humanity and what part of it we are willing to let go of in the most extreme situations. Adapted from Ian Reid’s novel of the same name, Foe introduces us to Henrietta and Junior, a young couple whose marriage is threatened when a stranger named Terrance (played by Aaron Pierre) announces that Junior has been chosen to be part of a mission that would send him to space for 2 years.

Aaron tells Hen and Junior that a duplicate of Junior will be created in order to keep Hen company. To make this AI version of Junior, Terrance has to move in the couple’s house to analyze Junior’s character, and make sure that the other Junior will be as truthful to the real Junior as possible. Then begins an intense psychological mind game: Who really is the stranger in the house? Why are Hen and Junior behaving so strangely ? It is safe to say that watching the first hour and a half of Foe, spectators will mostly have questions, and not so many answers, until an unexpected and mind-blowing twist reveals the unbearable truth.

This piece does contain spoilers past this point

“That was a great challenge, because for first time viewers, we kind of a had to create the illusion that they are watching a story that they believe is happening” told me Davis. “But the real story, which drove all the performances, is kind of hidden, and we don’t really understand the truth of what is happening until later in the movie. The trick was ‘How to achieve a first time viewing and a second time viewing that was truthful to what was happening?’. So that’s what really excited us.”

Foe reminds us that the sci-fi genre comes in many shape or form. Here, it is reinvented within a dystopian romance, in a near apocalyptic world, where the climate crisis has completely change the face of the earth as we know it. It is now a world where rain no longer falls, and where hope seem to have deserted every corner of the planet.

But even in the midst of the worst and of the unimaginable, some existential questions, the very same questions that make us human, still need to be answered. Here, the characters are not required to fight an alien invasion, or to take part in spaceship battles. Instead, they have to fight for who they really are and for their relationship, in a world where everyone has already given up.

“I’ve always loved sci-fi for the reason that it connects with your spirituality, with something bigger than our everyday lives, and reminds us what it is to be a human being in a universe. I love how that reminds us of our insignificance, and when we understand how insignificant we are, we understand how miraculous we are as well, and I love how sci-fi does that” continued Davis. The director also explained that in Foe, the relationship between Hen and Junior “has a lovely metaphorical parallel to the state of the planet”.

Trading in what makes us humans, including our pain, for a predictable future, where being alone doesn’t need to be so lonely anymore, and where even death could become an option, are both a scary and fascinating thing to behold in Foe. As a spectator, I wondered if such a future could exist, and if I would ever consider making the decision Henrietta has. I asked Garth Davis if he had ever felt like what he was filming might actually be a version of our future:

“Absolutely, and the things that you so articulated beautifully, are the things that drove me to make it: I feel like society, in general, is asleep at the wheel. I mean the warning signs are there, I think we’ve lost a connection to who we are, and by that I mean, really who we are. And I think the film encourages us to kind of stop and to be reminded that this time on earth is precious (…) We have a responsibly to that, and when we fall in line with that, we find true happiness. And you really feel the full spectrum of life.”

Watching Foe is like standing in front of a very disturbing looking glass, asking us to reconsider how we treat ourselves: If we have the arrogance, the vanity, to create another form of intelligence, that we expect to be identical to us, both morally and physically, why aren’t we willing to treat them as our equals ? ‘’There was something really precious at stake here: real or unreal, we have a responsibility to anything that is living.’’ added Davis.

In a shocking, devastating plot twist, where Junior’s AI version is being killed off, we also witness a complete lack of humanity, where people no longer face their responsibilities. Junior’s AI version isn’t even given a decent burial -something humans have been doing since the beginning of time-, and the metaphor of him being vacuumed into a bag in a foetal position is as clever as it is excruciating. So what kind of future is there to save ? How low were we thinking of ourselves to begin with ?

“We are nature, the way we treat ourselves reflect the way the planet is treated as well. And we got to realize that we are part of something bigger than our simple little lives that we lives, and our ego.” corroborated Davis. As for a second viewing experience, for Davis, it really will be at this moment that spectators will ‘’align with Hen’’ as well as ‘’get an incredible emotional access to her’’.

The performances in Foe are incredibly raw and heart-wrenching, and the chemistry of the trio Ronan-Mescal-Pierre is palpable. When the truth is finally revealed, and Hen is being separated from the other Junior, Davis explained that Paul Mescal ‘’had to access a very painful place’’, and it was his role as a director to ‘’give him a lot of emotional support’’. Through its incredible messages and acting, Foe is a movie that can stay with you for a very long time, but it will indeed require a second watch, in order to really get access to the full spectrum of emotions and multiple dilemmas Hen was facing from the start.

Foe is now out in theaters and will be streaming soon on Prime Video.