Foe: The Sci-Fi Movie That Fell Short

The Story of Foe

Paul Mescal's sci-fi movie Foe was received very poorly by critics, the film's story and best ideas were already ruined by an episode from Black Mirror season 6.

Black Mirror Beyond the Sea Aaron Paul as Cliff

Based on author Iain Reid's dystopian futuristic novel of the same name, Foe tells the story of a married couple, one-half of whom is replaced by a biomechanical duplicate during his enforced absence. Despite the interesting premise and generally positive literary reviews, the movie failed to live up to expectations.

Paul Mescal leaning on Saoirse Ronan in Foe

In addition to Paul Mescal, Foe boasts a star-studded, if limited, cast. Four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan plays Mescal's on-screen wife Hen, while British actor Aaron Pierre – best known for his performance in M. Night Shyamalan's 2021 thriller Old, rounds of the main trio. Unfortunately, while critics felt the film was generally well-acted, Foe was criticized for some clunky storytelling and a poor screenplay.

Black Mirror's 'Beyond The Sea' Episode Beat Foe To Its Own Sci-Fi Story In 2023

Black Mirror's 'Beyond The Sea' episode may explain why some critics were disappointed in Foe's story. Much like Paul Mescal's 2023 sci-fi movie, 'Beyond The Sea' follows astronauts who inhabit replicas of their bodies on Earth as they depart on a six-year space mission. Both projects explore themes of identity and what it means to be a 'real' human, while also discussing the ethics of cloning. However, because 'Beyond The Sea' was released before Foe to general critical acclaim, it may be the case that having already seen such a similar story explored so effectively prematurely soured critics towards Foe.

Black Mirror Beyond the Sea episode

It certainly isn't the case that Foe deliberately copied Black Mirror's premise. After all, the book on which Foe is based came out in 2018 – a full five years ahead of Black Mirror. Nevertheless, two science fiction releases taking different approaches to the same subject months apart inevitably invite comparisons. 'Beyond The Sea' may not be the reason for Foe's failure, but there's no doubt that its success accentuates the movie's shortcomings.

Why Black Mirror Season 6's Futuristic Space/Replica Story Worked Better Than Foe

Although both 'Beyond The Sea' and Foe received praise for the performances of their respective casts, critics generally agreed that almost all other aspects of the Black Mirror episode were far superior to the Paul Mescal movie.

A major reason for this was 'Beyond The Sea''s command of tone. While Foe struggled to elicit genuine thrills from its claustrophobic setting, critics agreed that Black Mirror season 6, episode 3 was able to slowly build a sense of foreboding and dread, using its potentially sinister body-swap premise to great effect. By contrast, while Mescal and Ronan were fully committed to their roles, the story they had to work with was too thinly drawn to allow for effective world-building.