Love Me
Seeking a faulty connection
Love Me (2025) markets itself as a film in which a satellite and a buoy fall in love in a post-apocalyptic world. It would be better described as an AI love story. Kristen Stewart stars as a Smart Bouy who is determined to convince a Satellite (Steven Yeun) orbiting the earth in search of life forms that she is, in fact, a sentient being. It feels reminiscent of Wall-E (2008) and AI films like Her (2013), Superintelligence (2020), and, interestingly, the recently released Companion (2025). But Love Me is entirely devoid of any living humans. These AI robots are completely on their own and must determine what it is to be human when all they have of humanity is their digital footprint.
While this debut film from husband-and-wife filmmaking team Andy and Sam Zuchero certainly raises many questions about the future of AI (and humanity), its real commentary is on influencer culture and how we define identity.
An unlikely romance in the end times.
As Stewart’s buoy searches the internet for a sense of identity, she discovers an influencer named Deja, whose identity she steals in a catfishing scheme against Yeun’s satellite. Deja (also played by Stewart) and her boyfriend, Liam (played by Yeun), are vloggers. Their videos include date nights (complete with a Blue Apron sponsorship, onesies, and Friends), their proposal, and wedding.
Now, going by the name Me, the buoy names the satellite I Am and helps him make a Liam-inspired Instagram. The two move in together in a Sims-like universe where Me repeatedly forces I Am to perform “date night” until they perfect it. After a lifetime of this repetition, I Am finally tells Me he doesn’t feel like any of this is real (which, of course, it isn’t.) His announcement causes Me to pull away, falling into a deep depression for thousands of years.
Luckily, Me is pulled out of her depression when the physical part of her—the bouy—is recharged. When she finds I Am, Stewart and Yeun finally embody the roles as themselves. Unfortunately, this moment arrives two thirds of the way through the film so there isn’t much action in the actual live action.
The bottom line.
Love Me explores crucial themes like identity, what it means to be human, and influencer culture. But ultimately, it falls short on its message. What the film took 90 minutes to accomplish could have been done in the span of a short film. At least then it would be more forgivable that the film avoids making any large claims.
Unlike other futuristic AI films, Love Me doesn’t paint these robots in an overtly good or bad light. It simply examines how AI might exist without humans. In the end, Love Me explores what it means to be real (not human, because the satellite and buoy still aren’t, but real, nonetheless). And, as the name would suggest, it sort of abstractly concludes that the ability to love and be loved is the answer.
