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Spielberg needs to depict David in this obsessive way because, otherwise, he might find himself having to justify why the father doesn’t try to save David or why Martin doesn’t grow attached to him…
This article, the fifth part of a series, delves into the emotional impact, or lack thereof, of the 'Forrest Scene' in the movie A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. The author revisits how Monica's decision to abandon David in the woods, intended as a sad moment, is perceived as confusing due to several underlying narrative inconsistencies. The previous parts of the review are referenced for a more comprehensive understanding of these cumulative factors.
A core issue highlighted is the film's thesis that 'Nobody knows what 'real' really means.' The audience is expected to accept David's reality based on an 'imprinting procedure' that supposedly makes him genuinely feel love for Monica. However, the author argues that this premise, which asserts David is real merely because he acts real and longs for love, is problematic and foundational to the scene's failure to evoke genuine sadness.
The review points out a 'bait-and-switch' tactic employed by Spielberg. Recognizing the difficulty of convincing the audience about the absence of objective reality, the film shifts its central question to 'Will humans love the robots back?' This narrative maneuver, however, still presupposes David's capacity for genuine love, a flawed assumption that undermines the emotional authenticity of the plot.
Monica's character is criticized for embodying conflicting roles simultaneously: she is David's object of devotion, a relatable audience surrogate, and a symbol of the 'cruel world' rejecting him. These roles create internal contradictions. The author notes that Monica's decision to abandon David is justified by her need to protect her real son, Martin, who was nearly killed by David. This makes her relatable but simultaneously undermines her role as a thematic representation of an unaccepting world, making David less of an innocent victim.
David's inherently robotic nature ultimately nullifies the film's thesis, the bait-and-switch, and Monica's sympathetic portrayal. Because Monica's decision to abandon David is justified by his danger to Martin, the audience is compelled to agree that David isn't 'real' and therefore, not an innocent victim. This makes the scene's emotional climax fall flat, despite the tears, as both Monica and the audience subconsciously acknowledge David's lack of true sentience. The author suggests that even the actress's performance hints at this internal struggle, reinforcing that David is merely a 'toaster that can cry,' diminishing audience investment.
The article further argues that the film's premise is illogical, making it impossible to portray David as both real and innocent given his actions. For David to be considered 'real,' he would need a moral compass and remorse for his actions, rather than just obsessive love for Monica. His immediate disregard for his father after imprinting and his possessive destruction of another robot ('She's mine') highlight programmed behavior rather than genuine emotion. Spielberg is forced to depict David as obsessive to avoid justifying why other characters don't try to save him, which would negate the film's bait-and-switch. This constant struggle to balance an illogical thesis with believable characters leads to a narrative collapse, confirming Monica's choice to abandon David as reasonable, a conclusion intuitively understood by the audience.