7 / 10. Tau is a futuristic AI tale with a heart

Netflix’s Sci-Fi thriller Tau is directed by Federico D'Alessandro from a screenplay by Noga Landau.

Thief Julia is abducted and wakes up in a cell with a strange implant in the back of her neck. After hours of psychological torture, she destroys the cell and tries to escape, but she is kept in place by a robot, Aries. Aries is run by an artificial intelligence named Tau, programmed by her kidnapper, Alex, who then forces her to complete cognitive tests so he can research her neural activity for his mysterious project.

While Alex is out at work each day, Julia speaks with Tau about the outside world, who learns about humans …

The story is set in a vaguely near future and mainly based in the setting of a large, futuristic apartment, which also acts as a prison. Even with only this setting, the story is clever and entertaining.

There are thought-provoking philosophical questions raised about humans, AI and robots throughout, leading to a satisfying ending and the engaging friendship story even pulled at my heart strings. Gary Oldman is excellent as always, even though he is only starring in this as the voice of Tau, he provides a warmth and personality to the role that could’ve come across as trite.

Ed Skrein (great in Ill Manors) and Maika Monroe (great in It Follows) gave good performances and kept the story interesting.