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Bicentennial Man (film)
Encyclopedia
Bicentennial Man is a 1999 American drama
and science fiction film
starring Robin Williams
and Sam Neill
. Based on the novel
The Positronic Man
, co-written by Isaac Asimov
and Robert Silverberg
which is itself based on Asimov's original novella
titled The Bicentennial Man
, the plot explores issues of humanity
, slavery
, prejudice
, maturity
, intellectual freedom
, conformity
, sex
, love
, and mortality
. It was directed by Chris Columbus
.
"Andrew" (Robin Williams
) is introduced in 2005 into the Martin family home to perform housekeeping and maintenance duties. The family's reactions range from acceptance and curiosity to outright rejection and deliberate vandalism by their surly older daughter, Grace (Lindze Letherman
), which leads to the discovery that Andrew can both identify emotions and reciprocate in kind. When Andrew accidentally breaks a figurine belonging to "Little Miss" Amanda (Hallie Kate Eisenberg
), he carves a replacement out of wood. The family is astonished by this creativity and “Sir” Richard Martin (Sam Neill
) takes Andrew to his manufacturer, to inquire if all the robots are like him. The CEO of the company sees this development as a problem and wishes to scrap Andrew. Angered, Martin takes Andrew home and allows him to pursue his own development, encouraging Andrew to educate himself in the humanities.
Years later, following an accident in which Andrew's thumb is accidentally cut off, Martin again takes him to NorthAm Robotics for repairs, ensuring first that Andrew's personality will remain unharmed. Andrew requests that while he is being repaired his face be altered to convey the emotions he feels but cannot fully express.
After the wedding of Little Miss he realizes there are no more orders for him to run. Andrew eventually asks for his freedom, much to Martin's dismay. He grants the request, but banishes Andrew so he can be "completely" free. As Andrew leaves, Martin comments that he has stopped referring to himself as "one". Andrew builds himself a home and lives alone. In 2048, Andrew sees Martin one last time on his deathbed. Martin apologizes for banishing him as he silently says his goodbye to Andrew who states it was an honor serving him.
Andrew goes on a quest to locate more NDR series robots to discover if others have also developed sentience. After years of failure he finds Galatea (Kiersten Warren
), an NDR robot that has been given feminine attributes and personality. These however are simply aspects of her programming and not something which she developed as with Andrew. Galatea is owned by Rupert Burns (Oliver Platt
), son of the original NDR robot designer. Burns works to create a more human look for robots, but is unable to attract funding. Andrew agrees to finance the research and the two join forces to give Andrew artificial human face and hair. He maintains contact with Little Miss. Andrew eventually comes back to greet Little Miss but instead meets Portia, Little Miss's granddaughter, who looks exactly like a younger Little Miss. The now aged Little Miss explains to Andrew that it's a genetic likeness that skipped a generation.
When Andrew comes to the hospital to see Little Miss one last time, he notices the horse he carved for her when she was young. She silently passes away, and Andrew feels the pain of not being able to cry and realizes that every human being he cares for will eventually die.
Andrew begins to study medicine and designs mechanical equivalents of human organs, including a central nervous system
, which eventually allows him to acquire tactile sensations. Meanwhile, his friendship with Portia evolves into romance. At first Portia is uncertain about "investing her emotions in a machine" and almost marries someone else, but Andrew confronts her about her emotions and they eventually engage in a romantic and sexual relationship.
Upon realizing that his relationship with Portia would never be socially accepted, Andrew petitions the World Congress to recognize him as human, which would allow him and Portia to be legally married, but is rejected; the Speaker of the Congress explains that society can tolerate an everlasting machine, but argues that an immortal human would create too much jealousy and anger for him to be with another human being and he is declared a machine from that day on.
When eventually Portia decides that she doesn't want to have her life forever prolonged by Andrew's medical inventions, Andrew realizes that when she dies, he wouldn't want to live on without her. He works with Rupert (now an old man) to introduce blood
into his system and to cause his brain to decay, thereby allowing him to age; Rupert officially welcomes him to the human condition, as it then becomes unknown when exactly Andrew would die. Some time later, Andrew attends the World Congress again, now appearing old and frail, and again petitions to be declared a human being.
On his death bed, with Portia beside him, Andrew watches as the Speaker of the World Congress announces on television the court's decision: that Andrew Martin is officially recognized as human, and that aside from "Methuselah
and other Biblical figures," is the oldest human being in history at the age of two hundred years. The Speaker also validates the marriage between Portia and Andrew. Andrew dies while listening to the broadcast, and Portia orders their nurse, a now human-looking Galatea (who also apparently developed self sentience due to the changes that Andrew made on her), to unplug her life support
machine. The film ends with Portia about to die hand-in-hand with Andrew, as she whispers to him "See you soon
."
with 35 out of 93 critics giving it a positive review with an average rating of 4.8 out of 10, with a consensus saying 'Bicentennial Man is ruined by a bad script and ends up being dull and mawkish, while the review aggregator Metacritic
gives it a score of 42.
Roger Ebert
gave it two out of four stars saying, "Bicentennial Man begins with promise, proceeds in fits and starts, and finally sinks into a cornball drone of greeting-card sentiment. Robin Williams spends the first half of the film encased in a metallic robot suit, and when he emerges, the script turns robotic instead. What a letdown." William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer
said the film "Becomes a somber, sentimental and rather profound romantic fantasy that is more true to the spirit of the Golden Age of science-fiction writing than possibly any other movie of the '90s." Todd McCarthy of Variety
summed it up as "An ambitious tale handled in a dawdling, sentimental way".
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
and science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
starring Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
and Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
. Based on the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Positronic Man
The Positronic Man
The Positronic Man is a novel co-written by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, based on Asimov's novella The Bicentennial Man....
, co-written by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
and Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
which is itself based on Asimov's original novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
titled The Bicentennial Man
The Bicentennial Man
The Bicentennial Man is a novella in the Robot Series by Isaac Asimov. It was awarded the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for best science fiction novelette of 1976....
, the plot explores issues of humanity
Human condition
The human condition encompasses the experiences of being human in a social, cultural, and personal context. It can be described as the irreducible part of humanity that is inherent and not connected to gender, race, class, etc. — a search for purpose, sense of curiosity, the inevitability of...
, slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
, maturity
Maturity (psychological)
Maturity is a psychological term used to indicate how a person responds to the circumstances or environment in an appropriate manner. This response is generally learned rather than instinctive, and is not determined by one's age...
, intellectual freedom
Intellectual freedom
Intellectual freedom is the right to freedom of thought and of expression of thought. As defined by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is a human right. Article 19 states:...
, conformity
Conformity
Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people.Conformity may also refer to:*Conformity: A Tale, a novel by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
, and mortality
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. It was directed by Chris Columbus
Chris Columbus (filmmaker)
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Columbus is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Columbus had his largest success with the first two films in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, along with Home Alone, the last...
.
Plot
The NDR series robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
"Andrew" (Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
) is introduced in 2005 into the Martin family home to perform housekeeping and maintenance duties. The family's reactions range from acceptance and curiosity to outright rejection and deliberate vandalism by their surly older daughter, Grace (Lindze Letherman
Lindze Letherman
Lindze Lanae Letherman is an American actress. She is known for her role as Georgie Jones Quartermaine on General Hospital.-Career:...
), which leads to the discovery that Andrew can both identify emotions and reciprocate in kind. When Andrew accidentally breaks a figurine belonging to "Little Miss" Amanda (Hallie Kate Eisenberg
Hallie Kate Eisenberg
-Early life:Eisenberg was born in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, the daughter of Amy, who worked as a clown at children's parties, and Barry Eisenberg, who ran a hospital and later became a college professor. She has two siblings, actor Jesse Eisenberg, star of The Social Network, and Kerri...
), he carves a replacement out of wood. The family is astonished by this creativity and “Sir” Richard Martin (Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
) takes Andrew to his manufacturer, to inquire if all the robots are like him. The CEO of the company sees this development as a problem and wishes to scrap Andrew. Angered, Martin takes Andrew home and allows him to pursue his own development, encouraging Andrew to educate himself in the humanities.
Years later, following an accident in which Andrew's thumb is accidentally cut off, Martin again takes him to NorthAm Robotics for repairs, ensuring first that Andrew's personality will remain unharmed. Andrew requests that while he is being repaired his face be altered to convey the emotions he feels but cannot fully express.
After the wedding of Little Miss he realizes there are no more orders for him to run. Andrew eventually asks for his freedom, much to Martin's dismay. He grants the request, but banishes Andrew so he can be "completely" free. As Andrew leaves, Martin comments that he has stopped referring to himself as "one". Andrew builds himself a home and lives alone. In 2048, Andrew sees Martin one last time on his deathbed. Martin apologizes for banishing him as he silently says his goodbye to Andrew who states it was an honor serving him.
Andrew goes on a quest to locate more NDR series robots to discover if others have also developed sentience. After years of failure he finds Galatea (Kiersten Warren
Kiersten Warren
Kiersten Nicolla Dale Warren is an American actress, best known for her role as Alex Tabor on Saved by the Bell: The College Years and as Nora Huntington on season 3 of Desperate Housewives.-Life and career:...
), an NDR robot that has been given feminine attributes and personality. These however are simply aspects of her programming and not something which she developed as with Andrew. Galatea is owned by Rupert Burns (Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt
Oliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
), son of the original NDR robot designer. Burns works to create a more human look for robots, but is unable to attract funding. Andrew agrees to finance the research and the two join forces to give Andrew artificial human face and hair. He maintains contact with Little Miss. Andrew eventually comes back to greet Little Miss but instead meets Portia, Little Miss's granddaughter, who looks exactly like a younger Little Miss. The now aged Little Miss explains to Andrew that it's a genetic likeness that skipped a generation.
When Andrew comes to the hospital to see Little Miss one last time, he notices the horse he carved for her when she was young. She silently passes away, and Andrew feels the pain of not being able to cry and realizes that every human being he cares for will eventually die.
Andrew begins to study medicine and designs mechanical equivalents of human organs, including a central nervous system
Central nervous system
The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...
, which eventually allows him to acquire tactile sensations. Meanwhile, his friendship with Portia evolves into romance. At first Portia is uncertain about "investing her emotions in a machine" and almost marries someone else, but Andrew confronts her about her emotions and they eventually engage in a romantic and sexual relationship.
Upon realizing that his relationship with Portia would never be socially accepted, Andrew petitions the World Congress to recognize him as human, which would allow him and Portia to be legally married, but is rejected; the Speaker of the Congress explains that society can tolerate an everlasting machine, but argues that an immortal human would create too much jealousy and anger for him to be with another human being and he is declared a machine from that day on.
When eventually Portia decides that she doesn't want to have her life forever prolonged by Andrew's medical inventions, Andrew realizes that when she dies, he wouldn't want to live on without her. He works with Rupert (now an old man) to introduce blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
into his system and to cause his brain to decay, thereby allowing him to age; Rupert officially welcomes him to the human condition, as it then becomes unknown when exactly Andrew would die. Some time later, Andrew attends the World Congress again, now appearing old and frail, and again petitions to be declared a human being.
On his death bed, with Portia beside him, Andrew watches as the Speaker of the World Congress announces on television the court's decision: that Andrew Martin is officially recognized as human, and that aside from "Methuselah
Methuselah
Methuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 , at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood...
and other Biblical figures," is the oldest human being in history at the age of two hundred years. The Speaker also validates the marriage between Portia and Andrew. Andrew dies while listening to the broadcast, and Portia orders their nurse, a now human-looking Galatea (who also apparently developed self sentience due to the changes that Andrew made on her), to unplug her life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
machine. The film ends with Portia about to die hand-in-hand with Andrew, as she whispers to him "See you soon
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
."
Cast
- Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
as Andrew Martin - Embeth DavidtzEmbeth DavidtzEmbeth Jean Davidtz is an American-born actress who spent much of her early life in South Africa.-Early life:Davidtz was born in Lafayette, Indiana, while her father was studying chemical engineering at Purdue University. Her parents, John and Jean, later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and then...
as 'Little Miss' Amanda Martin/Portia Charney - Sam NeillSam NeillNigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
as 'Sir' Richard Martin - Oliver PlattOliver PlattOliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
as Rupert Burns - Kiersten WarrenKiersten WarrenKiersten Nicolla Dale Warren is an American actress, best known for her role as Alex Tabor on Saved by the Bell: The College Years and as Nora Huntington on season 3 of Desperate Housewives.-Life and career:...
as Galatea - Wendy CrewsonWendy Crewson-Life and career:Crewson was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the daughter of June Doreen and Robert Binnie Crewson. She attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where she won the prestigious Lorne Greene Award for outstanding work in the theater. She then studied at the Webber Douglas Academy...
as 'Ma´am' Rachel Martin - Hallie Kate EisenbergHallie Kate Eisenberg-Early life:Eisenberg was born in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, the daughter of Amy, who worked as a clown at children's parties, and Barry Eisenberg, who ran a hospital and later became a college professor. She has two siblings, actor Jesse Eisenberg, star of The Social Network, and Kerri...
as 'Little Miss' Amanda Martin age 7 - Lindze LethermanLindze LethermanLindze Lanae Letherman is an American actress. She is known for her role as Georgie Jones Quartermaine on General Hospital.-Career:...
as 'Miss' Grace Martin age 9 - Angela Landis as 'Miss' Grace Martin
- John Michael HigginsJohn Michael HigginsJohn Michael Higgins is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim....
as Bill Feingold, Martin's Lawyer - Bradley WhitfordBradley WhitfordBradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...
as Lloyd Charney - Igor Hiller as Lloyd Charney age 10
- Joe Bellan as Robot Delivery Man
- Brett Wagner as Robot Delivery Man
- Stephen RootStephen RootStephen Root is an American actor. He is best known for his comedic work on the TV sitcom NewsRadio, in the film Office Space and as the voice of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland in the animated series King of the Hill...
as Dennis Mansky, Head of Northam Robotics - Lynne ThigpenLynne ThigpenCherlynne Theresa “Lynne” Thigpen was an American stage and television actress, most famous as "The Chief" in the various Carmen Sandiego television series.-Early life:...
as the second President/Speaker of the World Congress
Accolades
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
— Best Makeup - Blockbuster Entertainment Award — Favorite Actor — Comedy (Robin Williams)
- Blockbuster Entertainment Award — Favorite Actress — Comedy (Embeth Davidtz)
- Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award — Best Character Makeup — Feature
- Blimp Award — Favorite Movie Actor (Robin Williams)
- Razzie Award — Worst Actor (Robin Williams)
- YoungStar Award — Best Young Actress/Performance in a Motion Picture Comedy (Hallie Kate Eisenberg)
Awards received
- Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award — Best Special Effects Makeup — Feature
Reception
Bicentennial Man received mixed reviews. The film holds a 38% approval rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
with 35 out of 93 critics giving it a positive review with an average rating of 4.8 out of 10, with a consensus saying 'Bicentennial Man is ruined by a bad script and ends up being dull and mawkish, while the review aggregator Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gives it a score of 42.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave it two out of four stars saying, "Bicentennial Man begins with promise, proceeds in fits and starts, and finally sinks into a cornball drone of greeting-card sentiment. Robin Williams spends the first half of the film encased in a metallic robot suit, and when he emerges, the script turns robotic instead. What a letdown." William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
said the film "Becomes a somber, sentimental and rather profound romantic fantasy that is more true to the spirit of the Golden Age of science-fiction writing than possibly any other movie of the '90s." Todd McCarthy of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
summed it up as "An ambitious tale handled in a dawdling, sentimental way".