Artificial

A mere month ago, Luca Guadagnino presented his seven-hour documentary Joie de Vivre in Venice. Now he is touring a number of festivals with his latest feature: Artificial, stopping by London just after its world premiere in New York. It is the second Guadagnino double bill in a single year after 2024 saw the releases of both Challengers and Queer. In Artificial, the Italian auteur continues his collaboration with Andrew Garfield, who already starred in his Ivy League sex abuse drama of last year, After the Hunt. Garfield takes on the role of Sam Altman, officially credited as co-founder and CEO of OpenAI but one of the film’s many objectives is to challenge this claim.

The actual protagonist of the story is Ilya Sutskever (Anora’s Yura Borisov), who barges into Professor Geoffrey Hinton’s (another reunion: Mark Rylance, having worked on Guadagnino’s cannibal romance Bones and All) office at the University of Toronto to talk chain rule and neural networks. The film follows their budding collaboration, as they turn down a multimillion dollar offer to sell their algorithm to an untrusted source and settle at Google for ethical reasons. When Sutskever meets entrepreneurs and investors Elon Musk (Ike Barinholtz) and Altman, the young and impatient crowd decide to take artificial intelligence in their own direction.

The first hour of Artificial is an arduous expositional swamp to wade through, something that isn’t helped by the unconventional performances. Borisov leans into a rather formulaic portrayal of autistic traits – think The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper with a thick Russian accent. Barinholtz nails the mannerisms and voice of Musk but they feel like a Saturday Night Live satirical take. Then there is Garfield, who turns Altman into an oversized child: swinging his arms, leap-hop-bouncing and flailing about, pursing his lips when he speaks. He succeeds in making characters and audience equally uncomfortable with his persistent physical proximity. Cooper Hoffman’s character (Greg Brockman) is introduced as “the most American you’ll ever meet” and the only one who seems like an actual human being and not just an artificial entity’s re-creation thereof. It most definitely is a deliberate dig against this group of Silicon Valley figures to turn them into a replica of their own creation, however it takes getting used to and might be an outright deal breaker for some viewers.

Much has been written about Artificial’s turbulent history at Amazon MGM but despite the political and internal reasons that are most definitely the cause for the film getting dumped after completion, it is clear that it is not a picture that would fare well on a streaming platform. Only once the basic information about the founding of AGI has been established does the narrative truly start to engage viewers.

Like in any Guadagnino feature, the elaborate set design with all of its little details is absolutely enthralling. Every room feels lived in, every drink on a character’s desk reflects the authenticity of the place and the person supposedly consuming it. Artificial must be a contender for some sort of record for most locations per runtime in a 2026 release because even the shortest scenes are taking place in extraordinary places, which elevate the material immensely. Editor Marco Costa proves himself as the feature’s most vital player, steering through the individual segments like a conductor administering and releasing tempo.

Many people have referred to Artificial as the true successor to The Social Network, and not just because of Garfield’s involvement. However the comparisons only prove that The Social Network was lightning in a bottle, impossible to recreate. It had every single head of department give their very best. While Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning is missing a David Fincher to direct with his signature kinetic force, Guadagnino is missing an Aaron Sorkin to deliver a script where each sentence creates an energy that works on multiple levels and not merely transmits information. Both are missing Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to deliver a score with momentum and oomph, despite Damon Albarn’s best attempt to mimic their electronic style.

Artificial has a number of powerful moments that make it impossible to dismiss the piece despite its shortcomings, but it makes the audience work for its unsettling revelations about the brave new world in which humanity finds itself.

Selina Sondermann

Artificial is released nationwide on 22^nd January 2027.

Read more reviews from our London Film Festival 2026 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the London Film Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for Artificial here: