RENNER – Review

If you only know Frankie Muniz from comedies like “Malcolm in the Middle”,  the SPY KIDS movies and (my favorite) his appearance in SHARKNADO 3: OH HELL NO!, get set for watching him morph into Creepville territory as the title character in RENNER. He plays a computer genius with a severely crippling social disorder that leaves him alone in his apartment with his AI masterpiece, Salenus (voice of Marcia Gay Harden) as his only “friend”. He’s programmed her to be more of a therapist and life counselor than merely a functional entity like Siri or Alexa, continually learning and evolving on the job.

When cute new neighbor Jamie (Violett Beane) moves in across the hall, Renner is dying to meet her but can’t summon the courage or conversational basics to speak. Salenus urges him to face her and the world with more confidence and provides tips on what to say to break the ice. Jamie is surprisingly friendly and receptive despite his awkwardness, leading to the start of a friendship and possibly more. Renner is totally smitten. He naively takes everything at face value, despite Salenus’ warnings that Jamie’s voice indicates undertones of deception. Jamie’s assholish brother/roommate (Taylor Gray) adds a dimension of menace to the unfolding relationship between the two. 

As the film progresses, the suspense lies in whether Salenus’ warnings are on the nose, or if she’s just becoming more possessive of her creator as her personality continues to develop. One starts to wonder if she’s growing into a clingy maternal version of Dave’s Hal in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. For most of the film, Renner’s introversion dominates the tone until the excrement strikes the ventilating device (your euphemism for the day) leading to quite a gory denouement. The last act is not for the faint of heart.

Even if you realize early which way the plot is headed, how it gets there will be a grabber.

The producers manage to do a lot with a limited budget. Every scene occurs either in Renner’s apartment or hallway, both of which have drab, color-deprived Spartan decors. The cast is only three faces with dialog, two anonymous passing bodies and Harden’s voice. Muniz does a fine job of making Norman Bates look relatively suave before releasing a full range of emotions as his repressed personality opens up. Beane keeps us wondering if she’s on the level or working a scam. In limited screen time, Gray does well at being who he’s supposed to be. Director Robert Rippberger nicely manages to keep this restrictive scenario from becoming too claustrophobic in its 90 minutes of run time.

If taken seriously, RENNER is a cautionary tale about the increased isolation and dependence on AI that’s occurring among us. As escapist entertainment, it’s a passable bit of suspenseful sci-fi.

RENNER opens in theaters on Friday, Feb. 7.