
Kimi
By Danny Brogan,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Tech thriller has mental illness, sexual assault, violence.

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Kimi
Community Reviews
Based on 3 parent reviews
For older kids
What's the Story?
In KIMI, while working for a Seattle tech firm, Angela Childs (Zoe Kravitz) believes she has uncovered a serious crime. But when she brings it to the attention of her employers she finds herself in danger too.
Is It Any Good?
This crime thriller set in the Seattle tech world has all the stylistic hallmarks you'd expect from acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh. Kimi looks great with cool warehouse apartments, a contemporary plot line about the technology we bring into our own homes, and a murder mystery. And yet the film fails to gel, feeling every much a sum of two parts. The first half builds on an interesting premise. Kravitz's Angela, a voice stream interpreter -- think the person who ensures Alexa understand's your every command -- suffers with agoraphobia, with her anxieties being heightened by COVID. While doing all she can to avoid leaving her apartment, she uncovers what she believes to be a sexual assault.
Comparisons to Rear Window are clear to see and Angela is both interesting and unusual enough to maintain our attention. However, when it kicks into its second half and becomes a game of cat and mouse -- a bunch of heavies are sent to retrieve key evidence from Angela -- the film's poor script and substandard supporting actors fail to keep up. As for Angela, the characteristics that initially made her an interesting character become sidelined. By the final shot, her mental health issues, which were such an integral part of her character, have seemingly disappeared completely without any real explanation. Throw in a character who by all accounts is a stalker then becoming the hero and any of the film's initial slickness ends up in one icky mess. Kimi looks and sounds like a big budget release -- great cinematography, awesome soundtrack -- but feels very much like a straight to TV movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Kimi portrayed Angela's agoraphobia? How did it impact her and those around her? Why is it important that mental illness is portrayed sensitively in films?
Discuss the movie's violence. Did the violent scenes help tell the story in an effective way? Was it shocking or thrilling? Why? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?
Talk about the strong language used. Did it seem necessary or excessive? What did it contribute to the movie?
Technology played a key role in the story. What were the positives and negatives in how it was used? How did it reflect how we use technology in our own lives?
How did the movie portray sex? Was it affectionate? Respectful? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: April 12, 2022
- Cast: Zoe Kravitz , Byron Bowers , Jaime Camil
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Black actors, Latino actors
- Studios: Warner Bros. , HBO Max
- Genre: Thriller
- Run time: 89 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity
- Last updated: May 18, 2023
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