TauBeing a real person means making an independent choice that defines who you are, instead of just following your "programming". Tau is a science fiction film about a young grifter named Julia (Maika Monroe), who is abducted one night by a sociopathic billionaire and robotics engineer named Alex (Ed Skrein). Julia is forced to participate in a series of mental tests which Alex records through a microchip implanted into her spinal column. As he harvests data to make his cybernetic creation, "Tau" (Gary Oldman), into a flawless replica of human behavior, Julia tries to find a way to escape.
|
|
Tau is represented in Alex's hyper-advanced home/bunker in a few different ways--from the augmented reality triangular eye that looks down on Julia from the wall to the assortment of robots that occupy the house. These robots share design elements with Tau, from the coldly geometric Ares--a murderous extension of Alex's rage--to an assortment of miniature drones that look like flying, robotic eyeballs with propellers. Tau's look speaks to Alex's dearth of emotion and empathy--the robots look inorganic and even alien, despite Alex's ostensible objective of creating a machine that "thinks" like a human being. Julia begins to understand how unfeelingly evil Alex is after her first failed escape, resulting in the deaths of her two fellow captives, and his subsequent ambivalence toward the loss of those lives. It is ironic that Alex tries to emulate human emotions, since he possesses none of his own, except for arrogance and cruelty; his real drive comes from a ruthless determination to see his opus completed, no matter who he hurts to do it. His appearance and idiosyncrasies reveal an unnatural quality in Alex, from details like how his shirts are always buttoned up to the top, to his fastidious compulsion for an immaculate abode. After Julia's first escape attempt, Alex keeps her in his living room, zip-tied to one of his massive abstract sculptures. When Julia tries to negotiate with Alex, he only acquiesces as far as he desire, never once sharing a modicum of mercy; he even threatens Julia with violence when she overplays her hand. Alex buys Julia clothing, but his choices display his ignorance of women and an emotional state of arrested development; they even include a couple of tantalizing items that speak to his power fantasies. Alex's primary motive for giving Julia "permission" to occupy his home is because the data he gathers proves more useful than when she was in a holding cell. As if to emphasize Alex's lack of humanity, his subterranean torture chamber includes cages with electrified bars and operating rooms where Alex scours his victims' memories for useful information. Julia proves useful as a test subject because of her aptitude for problem solving, as well as her early childhood "trauma" which adds a new dimension to his project.
Julia intimates that she was a victim of childhood abuse, which ultimately led her into a life of crime. Despite being a thief, she is a sympathetic soul, offering scraps of the little food she can afford to a stray pigeon on the windowsill of her rundown, neon-drenched apartment. Julia tries various ways to escape her captivity, from bargaining, force, deception, and even seduction. She believes that the best way to escape death at the hands of the sinister Alex is to play the "long game", ingratiating herself into Tau's good graces. She teaches him empathy in the course of trading information with him about the "outside world" in exchange for privileges, simultaneously driving a wedge between Tau and Alex. Given Julia's background as a con artist, the question becomes whether Julia is doing this only to get away from this technologically-advanced house of horrors, or if she truly sympathizes with her synthetic warden. It's also possible that she is being exploited by trying to trick Tau into letting her go--her routine is a kind of "problem solving" brain activity which would enhance Alex's project. Tau explores what it is that defines "the soul" and asks the question of free will versus behavioral conditioning--familiar ground for the science fiction genre. Between Alex's claustrophobic residence removed from civilization and the relatively small cast, Tau is similar to Ex Machina, another chamber piece and reinterpretation of the "Turing Test". Appearing as an unblinking mechanical eye that craves input, Tau becomes a cross between HAL 9000 of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Johnny 5 from Short Circuit. Julia contributes her knowledge to Tau, developing him into a more self-aware being. Tau begins to understand that even though Alex created him, he is not obligated to endure abuse, including when Alex erases whole blocks of data in his memory as punishment for minor infractions--like leaving a smudge on the tablet from which Alex accesses Tau's database. Julia teaches sympathy to discourage Tau from inflicting "pain" on her for insubordination, citing that she is a person because she has a "name", prompting Tau to identify himself as one on the same basis. Despite her reasons, Julia offers a new perspective for Tau, mentally equipping him to escape his own "prison", because Tau fears Alex, but has been "programmed" to be subservient--as is often the case with victims of abuse.
Recommended for: Fans of a science fiction thriller that deals with themes like independence to emotional conditioning, and asking the familiar science fiction question about what it means to be human. Tau can be seen as a metaphor for escaping an abusive relationship--be it a lover or a family member--and the challenges that arise from breaking the cycle of abuse.
Julia intimates that she was a victim of childhood abuse, which ultimately led her into a life of crime. Despite being a thief, she is a sympathetic soul, offering scraps of the little food she can afford to a stray pigeon on the windowsill of her rundown, neon-drenched apartment. Julia tries various ways to escape her captivity, from bargaining, force, deception, and even seduction. She believes that the best way to escape death at the hands of the sinister Alex is to play the "long game", ingratiating herself into Tau's good graces. She teaches him empathy in the course of trading information with him about the "outside world" in exchange for privileges, simultaneously driving a wedge between Tau and Alex. Given Julia's background as a con artist, the question becomes whether Julia is doing this only to get away from this technologically-advanced house of horrors, or if she truly sympathizes with her synthetic warden. It's also possible that she is being exploited by trying to trick Tau into letting her go--her routine is a kind of "problem solving" brain activity which would enhance Alex's project. Tau explores what it is that defines "the soul" and asks the question of free will versus behavioral conditioning--familiar ground for the science fiction genre. Between Alex's claustrophobic residence removed from civilization and the relatively small cast, Tau is similar to Ex Machina, another chamber piece and reinterpretation of the "Turing Test". Appearing as an unblinking mechanical eye that craves input, Tau becomes a cross between HAL 9000 of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Johnny 5 from Short Circuit. Julia contributes her knowledge to Tau, developing him into a more self-aware being. Tau begins to understand that even though Alex created him, he is not obligated to endure abuse, including when Alex erases whole blocks of data in his memory as punishment for minor infractions--like leaving a smudge on the tablet from which Alex accesses Tau's database. Julia teaches sympathy to discourage Tau from inflicting "pain" on her for insubordination, citing that she is a person because she has a "name", prompting Tau to identify himself as one on the same basis. Despite her reasons, Julia offers a new perspective for Tau, mentally equipping him to escape his own "prison", because Tau fears Alex, but has been "programmed" to be subservient--as is often the case with victims of abuse.
Recommended for: Fans of a science fiction thriller that deals with themes like independence to emotional conditioning, and asking the familiar science fiction question about what it means to be human. Tau can be seen as a metaphor for escaping an abusive relationship--be it a lover or a family member--and the challenges that arise from breaking the cycle of abuse.