As soon as I heard the premise for the German sci-fi romance film “I’m Your Man,” I was hooked. I’ve been a fan of Dan Stevens, who co-stars in the film, since his work on the mind-bending superhero show “Legion” and the 2008 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense & Sensibility,” so hearing he would play a robot designed to fulfill his partner’s every need and desire was certainly an intriguing prospect.
Directed by Maria Schrader, “I’m Your Man” centers around an archeologist named Alma (Maren Eggert) as she participates in a three-week trial and evaluation of Tom, the aforementioned love robot. The nuances in the two leads’ performances as well as the main conflict spring from the same source: Tom’s non-human status.
Is he really just a machine or can he become more? Can Tom really love or is he just an algorithmic “yes man?” Alma has supposedly found the perfect guy for her, and yet she is still unhappy because Tom doesn’t challenge her.
Eggert does an excellent job portraying the grappling and wrestling with all of these feelings and how they evolve throughout the film. Stevens balances humor, curiosity and inhumanity all while saying cliché things like “Your eyes are like two mountain lakes I could sink into” with complete sincerity.
One may wonder why Stevens, an English actor, is in an otherwise entirely German film. In addition to being fluent in the language, it feeds into Tom being slightly out of place with the rest of the characters in the film.
Hulu says that this movie is “for comedy fans,” which is true to an extent. Yes, there is the fish-out-of-water humor that comes from Tom’s misperceptions about human life and relationships, but I would classify the film as a drama with moments of comedy.
“I’m Your Man” does fulfill some stereotypes about German cinema in that it’s sort of a downer. The ending is left intentionally ambiguous so that assessment may change depending on the individual viewer’s perspective.
In addition to an original score by Tobias Wagner, the film’s soundtrack features lively jazz classics like “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and several songs from contemporary Dutch jazz duo Brenner/McCoy. The simplistic electric piano adds restrained beauty to the film without overpowering each scene.
I thoroughly enjoyed “I’m Your Man.” It has an interesting premise with strong execution and solid performances all around. If you’re looking for a contrast to the romantic fluff movies this Valentine’s Day, then turn those subtitles on and find out if Dan Stevens is your man.
