{"id":872525,"date":"2026-10-06T07:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T07:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/872525\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T07:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T07:36:15","slug":"artificial-first-reactions-provocative-downright-horrifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/872525\/","title":{"rendered":"Artificial First Reactions: Provocative, Downright Horrifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tLuca Guadagnino<\/a>\u2019s \u201cArtificial<\/a>\u201d premiered at the New York Film Festival<\/a> Monday night, and early reviews have members of the film press championing the Sam Altman-centered movie as a \u201cprovocative,\u201d \u201cvisceral corporate drama\u201d and the director\u2019s \u201cbest film in a decade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNext Best Picture editor-in-chief and critic Matt Neglia wrote<\/a> that \u201cArtificial\u201d is \u201cas entertaining as it is terrifying.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s a brilliantly written human story about power, control, ambition, and greed that might be the most urgently relevant film of our time. Andrew Garfield delivers one of his most unsettling and transformative performances as Sam Altman, equally capturing his disarming charm and unnerving malice.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHe continued: \u201cYura Borisov is magnificent as the brilliant mind behind OpenAI, wrestling with the moral implications of the creation he has helped unleash upon the world with intelligence and empathy. Damon Albarn\u2019s electronic, atmospheric score perfectly sets the mood for this tech-driven narrative, while Guadagnino\u2019s cinematic flourishes are bountiful, resulting in what may be his funniest and scariest film to date. Provocative, engaging, and downright horrifying, it\u2019s the movie of the moment that we may not even be able to look back on if the vision of the future it presents comes true.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tEditor Eric Kohn called the film a \u201cpitch-perfect dark comedy.\u201d \u201cAndrew Garfield walks a fine line between movie monster, buffoonish mogul, and evil genius. A fun\/scary ride that embodies the paradox at its center,\u201d he wrote on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGuadagnino guts Silicon Valley with his obsessive pulse & a powerful farce in which Andrew Garfield completely shines,\u201d wrote film critic Jairo Jim\u00e9nez.<\/a> \u201cA feverish, visceral corporate drama that proves what is truly artificial was never in the machines, but in the boardroom. An essential film.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tVariety\u2019s Clayton Davis wrote that \u201cArtificial\u201d is \u201cGuadagnino\u2019s best film in a decade\u201d and \u201cAndrew Garfield and Yura Borisov soar to new heights. Loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSet during the tumultuous time when Altman, OpenAI\u2019s CEO (played by Andrew Garfield), was fired and then rehired by the AI giant in 2023, \u201cArtificial\u201d has faced its own challenges getting to theaters; in June, Neon closed a deal to complete the $40 million film after Amazon MGM Studios dropped the project months earlier after the company signed a major partnership with OpenAI, including a $50 billion investment.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite how hot-button some may feel the film is, Guadagnino told Vulture<\/a> that he wasn\u2019t \u201cafraid\u201d of Altman\u2019s \u2014 or anyone depicted in the film\u2019s \u2014 response. \u201cI think that people that have a lot of power should be very much aware that you must be responsible for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd though Altman never met Garfield, the tech CEO admitted\u00a0in a recent Vanity Fair cover story that the actor \u201cdid walk like me\u201d<\/a> when he ran into production filming near his house. \u201cOne morning, I was walking down the street to get coffee and there were all these cameras and there was a guy dressed exactly like me with my same backpack walking so much that I felt I was in some weird glitch of the simulation or something,\u201d Altman told Vanity Fair. \u201cIt was very strange.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cArtificial\u201d reunited Guadagnino with Garfield, who last worked with the director in 2025\u2019s \u201cAfter the Hunt.\u201d Ike Barinholtz stars as co-founder Elon Musk, Monica Barbaro plays former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, \u201cAnora\u201d breakout Yura Borisov is former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and Mark Rylance plays Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton. Jason Schwartzman, Zosia Mamet, Cooper Hoffman, Chris O\u2019Dowd, Cooper Koch and Billie Lourd also appear in the film. \u201cSNL\u201d alum Simon Rich penned the script.<\/p>\n

\n\tAhead of the premiere\u2019s conclusion, Variety exclusively reported <\/a>that Neon\u2019s awards campaign for the film will include Garfield and Rylance competing in the supporting actor category<\/a> and Borisov campaigning in lead actor. Barbaro will vie for supporting actress.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cArtificial\u201d opens in theaters on Christmas Day from Neon. Check out first reactions in the posts below.<\/p>\n

Have another screening to go to so a longer review will come later but I absolutely loved Luca Guadagnino\u2019s #Artificial<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an intimate character study but on a huge scale. The cast is amazing. Andrew Garfield fully becomes Sam Altman. Monica Barbaro is excellent as always.\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Greg Pomes \ud83c\udfac (@Greg_Pomes) October 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Artificial\u2019 is an intense delivery of Guadagnino\u2019s talents that I truly enjoyed. Haunting yet alarming would be the best way to tease this film. Garfield unfolds into a terrifying role that left me floored. I\u2019ve been anticipating Borisov in this film and he excels. There\u2019s a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/bjBZQTAim0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nicole’s Film Perspectives (@GoldenWinter_28) October 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

ARTIFICIAL feels like the proper sequel to THE SOCIAL NETWORK. It\u2019s a human story about the blinding nature of desire. Andrew nailed Sam Altman\u2019s charismatic yet manipulative demeanor. Ike as Elon will be beloved. Yura Borisov is the heart \u2018n soul of the whole film.<\/p>\n

FEEL THE AGI pic.twitter.com\/CKKjc43A4X<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Antonio Ferme (@antonio_ferme) October 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

ARTIFICIAL is a pitch-perfect dark comedy about the absence of responsibility in the face of apocalyptic certainty. Andrew Garfield walks a fine line between movie monster, buffoonish mogul, and evil genius. A fun\/scary ride that embodies the paradox at its center. #NYFF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 erickohn (@erickohn) October 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

ARTIFICIAL. Guadagnino guts Silicon Valley with his obsessive pulse & a powerful farce in which Andrew Garfield completely shines. A feverish, visceral corporate drama that proves what is truly artificial was never in the machines, but in the boardroom. An essential film. #NYFF64<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/030RZzuERt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jairo Jim\u00e9nez @NYFF (@jairojimenez_) October 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

ARTIFICIAL is Luca Guadagnino\u2019s telling of the origins of the AI boom and where it may one day lead us. As entertaining as it is terrifying, it\u2019s a brilliantly written human story about power, control, ambition, and greed that might be the most urgently relevant film of our time.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ImHKX94vSq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt Neglia @NYFF (@NextBestPicture) October 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n