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One of the important things about Bicentennial Man is that it was one of the few movies released in digital to select theatres.
I just wish the movie it self was better. It was heart warming and nice but unfortunately I found it a bit disjointed. I did not feel that time
was passing. The story takes place over 200 years but it seemed to take place over a few months. That, I believe was the only real flaw.
We follow the artificial life and times of an android who is played by Robin Williams. His job is that of the household robot,
chief cook and bottle washer. Basically it is not a stretch to see this as a story bordering slightly on slavery. The idea seems to seeth
below the surface but it is never really addressed. When the idea even comes up we find that his owner is willing to give him his freedom
to become an individual. The Martin family realizes quickly that the robot 'Andrew' is something special. He experiences emotions, loyality
and most importantly, creative thought. As the years go by he strives to learn the intricacies of humanity.
His career begins in the family of Richard Martin (Sam Neill) where he forms as close to a love relationship with the daughter,
"Little Miss" (Hallie Kate Eisenberg), which eventually gets married. Once he gains his freedom from the family he actually
becomes a very wealthy robot making his riches by mankind benefitting from his endeavours to make himself more human. The
technology he discovers slowly turns him into a human looking robot.
He decides to travel the world until he locates all the other androids made from his same lineage hoping to discover any others that could
have the same faults as him that gave him creative thought. This where it seems to only take months but instead entire generations pass.
They do not pass for him, unfortunately because he does not seem to that sense of time, after all he is in all probability an immortal.
He eventually meets and falls in love with the great grand daughter of Little miss Portia with whom he had an affection for before she
got married. She looks like her great grandmother. Andrew slowly becomes virtually human with all emotions and body fluids, thanks
to the help of Rupert Burns played by Oliver Platt. The scientist assists Andrew in bringing his creations to fruitation. His newly
created emotions and body changes eventually lead to him and the grand daughter of "Little Miss" (Hallie Kate Eisenberg plays
both parts) to bond and live together as husband and wive.
Throughout the years that follow he constantly goes in from of world courts to be declared a FREE AND INDEPENDANT HUMAN. For years he
is turned down. The years pass and his wife becomes older. Fearing that he will lose her in death, Andrew makes the decision to change
himself so that he can age and die. There are some heartwarming scenes here and the ending is nice and of course sad. The answers
to your questions about the ending will have to be answered by going to see the movie.
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