FREYA

These days, smart devices are a regular feature in our homes, and getting more and more common. At first things don’t seem so different for Jade (Rhona Rees), who chats to her AI assistant (the titular FREYA, voiced by Elysia Rotaru) as she goes through her day. FREYA provides various pieces of health advice. Jade orders pizza, rosé wine and casual sex. But soon it becomes apparent that this relationship is not a wholly positive one. FREYA’s constant remarks about her weight and lifestyle are damaging Jade’s mental health, and when she tries to turn FREYA off, it becomes less clear who is the master and who the servant.

Concerns around privacy, bodily autonomy and the intrusion of the State into private life loom large in this all too viable dystopian tale, which was scripted by Rees herself. It’s a timely piece of work in light of increasing threats to women’s autonomy around the globe, and in the context of a growing public conversation about the commodification of bodies under capitalism. There’s the distinct implication that some calamity has affected this world to create the situation we see, but as Covid-19 has demonstrated, it takes a lot to overcome the complacency of comfortable consumerism, even when individual lives are fraught with misery.

Jamie Chrest’s sumptuous production design contributes to efficient world-building even when 90% of the running time is spent in Jade’s apartment. There’s a slickness to this indicative of a culture which strongly prioritises style and status over the substance of Jade’s needs. It’s subtler in scenes set in a coffee shop which could easily be part of today’s world, but here Alfonso Chin’s glossy cinematography add that hint of distance at the same time as letting us see how much the culture of Jade’s world has already infiltrated ours. Rees' performance, meanwhile, is achingly real.

A beautifully composed piece of satirical science fiction, FREYA screened at Fantasia 2021. It’s a great calling card for all involved and stands alone as an incisive piece of cinema.