--- title: "Kimi" year: 2022 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/kimi" fi1m_id: "kimi" imdb_id: "tt14128670" tmdb_id: 800510 wikidata_id: "Q106363032" fi1m_score: 77 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 11 published: "2026-09-09" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:52.914404+00:00" region: "PL" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Kimi (2022) Directed by Steven Soderbergh · 1h 29m · PISF 18 · Thriller, Mystery, Crime ## Identity Kimi - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/kimi - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** kimi - **IMDb ID:** tt14128670 - **TMDB ID:** 800510 - **Wikidata ID:** Q106363032 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14128670/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/800510, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106363032 **Fi1m score: 77** · Critics 82 from 11 reviews *In a sentence:* Eighty-nine minutes, one flat, and a woman who really did not want to go outside > Soderbergh and Koepp build a lean, old-fashioned thriller around a smart speaker and a woman who cannot cross her own doorstep, and Zoë Kravitz carries it easily. The first half is close to perfect; the second is a chase we have seen before. ## Synopsis Angela Childs (Zoë Kravitz) works from her loft in Seattle for the company that makes Kimi, a smart speaker that answers questions and plays music. Her job is to listen to recordings where Kimi misunderstood someone and teach it to do better. She does not leave the flat, and the film, set during the pandemic, is in no hurry to explain why. Her neighbour Terry (Byron Bowers) keeps asking her out to lunch; her mother (Robin Givens) keeps calling. Then a recording arrives with something under the music that should not be there. Written by David Koepp and directed, shot and edited by Steven Soderbergh, it runs 89 minutes. ## Review Angela Childs (Zoë Kravitz) has a good job, a large flat and no intention of leaving it. She works for the company behind Kimi, a smart speaker, and her days are spent with headphones on, listening to the recordings where the machine got something wrong and correcting it. She has rules for herself, and the film shows them rather than explaining them. Then a recording comes through with a noise under the music, and she cannot stop listening to it. That is the whole idea. Steven Soderbergh and writer David Koepp get it done in 89 minutes, and for the first half of them this is as good a small thriller as we have seen in some time. The second half is more ordinary, and we will come to it. Soderbergh shoots and cuts the film himself, as he tends to, and the choices are simple and right. Inside the flat the camera is steady and the light is warm. Philip Messina’s production design makes the flat look like somewhere a person could plausibly choose never to leave, which is the point. When Angela finally steps outside, the lenses go wide, the camera tilts and the pavement seems to lean at her. It is an old trick. Soderbergh does not oversell it, which is why it works. The scene we will remember is the one where nobody moves. Angela at her desk, headphones on, going through the recording piece by piece, playing it again and again. Koepp writes it as procedure and Soderbergh lets it run. We felt sick, quietly, when the noise resolved into a voice, partly because the film had made us wait for it and partly because Kravitz does not react. She just listens harder, and then she plays it again. It is the best piece of suspense in the film and it is a woman sitting in a chair. Kravitz holds the whole thing together. Angela is prickly and precise, and the script gives her a set of rituals, the checking, the wiping, the sequence at the door, without ever giving her a speech about them. There is a scene where Terry, played by Byron Bowers with a patience that is starting to fray, asks her to walk with him to a food truck across the street, and she gets as far as the threshold. Bowers plays the hurt small, and Kravitz plays the failure smaller. Rita Wilson has one scene as Natalie Chowdhury, a manager who is friendly right up to the moment she is not, and one scene is all she needs. Robin Givens, as Angela’s mother, is a voice on the phone and one of the film’s warmer notes. Cliff Martinez, who has scored for Soderbergh since [*Sex, Lies, and Videotape*](https://film.one/film/sex-lies-and-videotape), gives the flat a low electronic hum and saves the strings for the street, where they swell in a way that owes an open debt to Hitchcock. Ellen Mirojnick’s costumes draw the same line between indoors and out, and she never overplays it. Small choices, made by people who knew what the film was. What does not work is the plot, once it gets going. Angela leaves the flat, the film turns into a chase, and the men chasing her are the least interesting thing in it. Charles Halford and Jacob Vargas are billed as Tall Thug and Glasses Thug, which tells you roughly how much Koepp has given them to play. Derek DelGaudio’s Bradley Hasling, the company’s boss, is seen mostly on a screen and stays there. The conspiracy behind the recording is off the shelf, and we will say nothing about the last twenty minutes except that they arrive faster than we expected; we checked the time thinking there must be another reel. Most critics have been warmer about this than we are, and we understand why: it is brisk, it is intelligent about how people live through their devices, and it never wastes a minute. Set beside Soderbergh’s other quick, small pictures it is one of the most polished. Set beside [*Rear Window*](https://film.one/film/rear-window) and *Blow Out*, which every review including this one has now mentioned, it is a slighter thing, and it knows it. Watch it at home, in a flat, with the door locked. It is 89 minutes long and you will not look at your phone, mostly because you will be watching hers. *Fi1m score 77, published 9 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews for Kimi are uniformly positive and the spread is narrow: nobody dislikes it, and nobody claims it is more than a small film done well. Praise clusters on two things. The first is Zoë Kravitz, whose agoraphobic tech worker most critics find resourceful and likeable enough to carry a film that is often just her and a flat. The second is Soderbergh’s direction, described again and again as lean, efficient and quick, with the camera work and the tense second half singled out. Nearly every critic notes the debt to Rear Window, Blow Out and Hitchcock generally, and most treat it as a compliment. The reservations are mild. The Guardian calls it a minor entry, /Film finds it not among Soderbergh’s more memorable films, Paste thinks the ending abrupt and the ideas about surveillance shallower than they look, and The AV Club enjoys it as an entertainingly dumb thriller. Nobody argues that it fails. ## Straight answers **Is Kimi worth watching?** *Kimi* is worth watching for anyone who wants a lean, well-made thriller that is over in 89 minutes, and we scored it 77. Zoë Kravitz carries it easily and the first half, mostly a woman at a desk listening to a recording, is close to perfect. The second half turns into a chase we have seen before, with villains given very little to play. **How long is Kimi, and what is it rated?** *Kimi* runs 1h 29m and is rated 18 by the PISF in Poland. It is a thriller and mystery film. **Where can I watch Kimi in Poland?** *Kimi* is streaming on HBO Max in Poland, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from zł 9.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Kimi, and is it suitable for children?** *Kimi* is a 15 in the UK and R in the US, so it is not for children. The frightening parts are mostly suspense rather than gore: a long, quiet scene of a woman replaying a recording until a voice emerges is the one that unsettled us, and the later chase is tense rather than graphic. Older teenagers who can take a thriller should be fine. **What should I watch after Kimi?** After *Kimi*, try [*Rear Window*](https://film.one/film/rear-window) (1954, Fi1m 94): The film Kimi is politely rewriting; one window, one wheelchair, one very bad neighbour. Then [*Blow Out*](https://film.one/film/blow-out) (1981, Fi1m 88): A sound man hears a murder on tape; De Palma at his most paranoid and most precise; and [*The Conversation*](https://film.one/film/the-conversation) (1974, Fi1m 92): Gene Hackman listens for a living and wishes he had not; the sad, slow original. ### Reviews we read (20) - **The Telegraph** (5/5): The review calls Kimi a modern Rear Window updated for the work-from-home age, with Zoë Kravitz magnificent in a techno-thriller about technology and surveillance. It highlights the film's pin-drop suspense and contemporary spin on paranoia. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/kimi-review-modern-rear-window-evil-alexa-heart/) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it one of Soderbergh’s best recent films, a killer thriller that seethes with rage at tech companies’ civic failures while delivering physical, visually intense direction. It singles out the metaphors of agoraphobia and surveillance for praise as well as Kravitz’s graceful performance. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/steven-soderberghs-kimi-is-a-tech-thriller-that-packs-a-potent-outrage) - **Variety** (Critics Pick): The critic lauds the nimble, sinister cyber-age thriller as an object lesson in modest, sparkling filmmaking, crediting Soderbergh’s direction and the script’s standard-issue elements executed with ingenuity. It singles out the camera work, framing, and satisfying action payoff for praise. [Read](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/kimi-review-zoe-kravitz-steven-soderbergh-1235174953/) - **Empire**, Chris Hewitt (80/100, inferred): The review finds Kimi a solid, character-driven cerebral thriller that showcases Soderbergh’s continued creative punch after his supposed retirement. It singles out Zoë Kravitz’s excellent central performance and the expertly tense second half for praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/kimi/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (80/100, inferred): The critic describes it as a nifty micro-thriller and a paranoid ‘Parallax View’ for the pandemic era, hailing Soderbergh’s efficient, intelligent direction and Kravitz’s enormously likable, resourceful lead performance. It singles out the film’s focus on isolation and surveillance for praise. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-02-09/kimi-review-steven-soderbergh-zoe-kravitz) - **The AV Club**, Mike D'Angelo (B): The critic finds it an entertainingly dumb techno-thriller with clever plotting and a fun if over-the-top conspiracy, effective as a Rear Window/Blow Out homage that kicks into high gear in the second half. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/kimi-film-review-steven-soderbergh-zoe-kravitz-fun-tech-1848507963) - **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (75/100, inferred): The review calls Kimi a compelling, gripping little genre movie and a delicious thriller that offers a timely critique of big tech. It singles out Zoë Kravitz’s strong performance as the agoraphobic protagonist for particular praise. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/kimi-review-steven-soderbergh-zoe-kravitz-thriller-rear-window-with-tech-twist-1467128) - **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich: The critic describes it as a simple but satisfying 'Blow Out' update for the age of Alexa, a fun paranoid thriller with Zoë Kravitz on the run from Big Tech. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/kimi-review-steven-soderbergh-hbo-max-1234697441/) - **Slant Magazine**, Pat Brown: The critic calls it fiercely intense and taut, extending surveillance tensions into impactful hyperbole as an effective nail-biting thriller that lands because it reflects our own cyberpunk dystopia. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/kimi-review-steven-soderbergh-zoe-kravitz/) - **The Guardian**: The critic finds Kimi an efficient paranoid thriller that pays tribute to Hitchcock, with Zoë Kravitz as an agoraphobic woman who hears a murder via a smart device. It is praised for its sleek, grounded execution and stylish direction by Soderbergh despite being a minor entry. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/feb/10/kimi-review-steven-soderbergh-thriller-zoe-kravitz) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: The critic calls it a tautly suspenseful nail-biter and a pithy, punchy thriller from a pro team that riffs knowingly on Hitchcock and De Palma in the age of virtual assistants and invasive surveillance. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/kimi-steven-soderbergh-zoe-kravitz-1235087926/) - **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (Critic’s Pick): The critic praises this lean, tense nerve-shredder as one of Soderbergh’s recent best, a survival story that captures pandemic-era fears through a tech analyst heroine who uncovers a crime. It singles out the delirious camera work and the righteous paranoia of its female protagonist for particular admiration. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/movies/kimi-review.html) - **Vulture**: The critic praises the nimble thriller as crisp and effervescent, with propulsive momentum that threads tense interactions with modern melancholy about technology, trauma, and isolation. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/zo-kravitz-is-an-agoraphobic-tech-worker-in-thriller-kimi.html) - **The Playlist**, Jason Bailey (A-): The critic praises the film's tight, efficient direction and Kravitz's performance, noting it as a ruthlessly efficient pandemic-era thriller that effectively uses sound and visuals to convey the protagonist's anxiety. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/kimi-review-steven-soderbergh-20220209/) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (B+): The critic finds Kimi a captivating small-scale thriller that evolves excitingly from Hitchcockian suspense to a Home Alone-style conclusion, boosted by a strong solo lead performance from Zoë Kravitz and sharp ideas about tech power and pandemic isolation. [Read](https://collider.com/kimi-review-zoe-kravitz-steven-soderbergh-hbo-max/) - **Digital Spy**, Gabriella Geisinger (80/100, inferred): The critic calls Kimi a timely must-see thriller that presciently taps into contemporary fears around surveillance, tech, and agoraphobia. They single out the lead performance by Zoë Kravitz and the cinematography for creating a realistic, dimensional protagonist and an engrossing visual style. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a39130588/kimi-review-zoe-kravtiz/) - **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (7/10): Soderbergh delivers a slick, quick thriller using modern privacy concerns in a Rear Window-style narrative, with strong performances and efficient pacing, though not his most memorable work. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/761820/kimi-review-zoe-kravitz-finds-herself-in-a-digital-rear-window-situation-in-this-steven-soderbergh-thriller/) - **Deadline**, Todd McCarthy: Soderbergh delivers a tight, taut little thriller that efficiently guides viewers through a technological labyrinth to a satisfying end. The film stands out for its modern technological twist and how it captures communication via devices superseding personal contact. [Read](https://deadline.com/2022/02/kimi-film-review-zoe-kravitz-steven-soderbergh-1234932437/) - **Paste**, Natalia Keogan (7.5): The review calls Kimi a heart-pounding Covid-era thriller that effectively mines tech surveillance and pandemic anxieties but falls short of deeper insight, with the ending feeling abrupt; it singles out Zoë Kravitz's endearing, nuanced performance as the main highlight. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/steven-soderbergh/kimi-review) - **The Wrap**: Soderbergh and Koepp make an old-fashioned potboiler feel modern and relevant with brisk pacing and energy that prevents it from wearing out its welcome. The film is singled out for using the pandemic as a source of anxiety in a paranoiac thriller and for exploding assumptions about online security. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/kimi-film-review-zoe-kravitz-steven-soderbergh/) ## Details - **Director:** Steven Soderbergh - **Director:** Steven Soderbergh - **Writer:** David Koepp - **Cinematography:** Steven Soderbergh - **Editor:** Steven Soderbergh - **Music:** Cliff Martinez - **Production design:** Philip Messina - **Costume design:** Ellen Mirojnick - **Producer:** Michael Polaire, David Koepp - **Cast:** Zoë Kravitz as Angela Childs; Byron Bowers as Terry Hughes; Jaime Camil as Antonio Rivas; Erika Christensen as Samantha Gerrity; Derek DelGaudio as Bradley Hasling; Robin Givens as Angela's Mother; Charles Halford as Tall Thug; Devin Ratray as Kevin - **Runtime:** 1h 29m - **Certificate (PISF):** 18 - **Release (Poland):** 18 February 2022 - **Genres:** Thriller, Mystery, Crime - **Budget:** $4 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67S8ru4K4x4 ## Where to watch in Poland - HBO Max: streaming, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent zł 9.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy zł 39.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-10.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IN, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Rear Window* (1954), Fi1m 94: The film Kimi is politely rewriting; one window, one wheelchair, one very bad neighbour. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/rear-window.md) - *Blow Out* (1981), Fi1m 88: A sound man hears a murder on tape; De Palma at his most paranoid and most precise. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/blow-out.md) - *The Conversation* (1974), Fi1m 92: Gene Hackman listens for a living and wishes he had not; the sad, slow original. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-conversation.md) - *Unsane* (2018), Fi1m 64: Soderbergh’s other small, quick thriller about a woman nobody will believe, shot on a phone. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/unsane.md) - *The Guilty* (2018): A Danish police dispatcher and a phone call; ninety minutes in one room, no relief. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/kimi