The Pod Generation

The Pod Generation is a 2023 science fiction romantic comedy film written and directed by Sophie Barthes.

The film was released at the Sundance Film Festival on 19 January 2023.

Plot
Set in the not-so-distant future in New York City, Rachel Novy is ensconced in a tranquil dream where she envisions herself embracing motherhood. However, her reality starkly contrasts this idyllic dream, as the demands of her life leave no room for the rigors of a traditional pregnancy. Despite Rachel and her husband, Alvy, sharing a fervent desire to become parents, their lives are firmly under the sway of artificial intelligence. As a result of advancements in technology, personal AI voice assistants choreograph people's daily routines, and indoor artificial nature pods replace genuine outdoor experiences.

Rachel works as a dedicated and accomplished employee at Pegazus, a prominent tech conglomerate, and her unwavering commitment earns her a well-deserved promotion. This promotion comes with an intriguing offer: The company offers to bear the substantial expenses of childbirth through the innovative services of the Womb Center, a subsidiary of Pegazus, should Rachel choose to embrace this opportunity. The Womb Center itself stands as a cutting-edge research institution in the U.S. under the ownership and stewardship of Pegazus. Their overarching goal is to counter the global decline in birth rates due to the immense physical and emotional tolls traditionally associated with childbirth. This decline likewise threatens global population stability. To alleviate the strain on prospective parents, particularly women, the Womb Center devised a groundbreaking technology: detachable remote wombs, which resemble large eggs.

Upon receiving the offer from her company to cover the substantial expenses of the program, Rachel is overwhelmed, and sees the opportunity as presenting an enticing chance, especially when she receives the long-awaited news from the Womb Center confirming her acceptance into their program. However Alvy, a botanist, ardently cherishes a life untainted by technological interventions. Due to these differing views, Rachel and Alvy grapple with their profound differences rooted in their contrasting attitudes toward technology, with Rachel being more amenable to technological advancements and Alvy preferring to spend his time out caring for live trees and plants, which have become rare in the city.

Upon learning of Rachel’s enrollment in the Womb Center program, Alvy is taken aback by her unilateral decision to pursue this unconventional path to parenthood. Beyond the rift in their understanding, Alvy is deeply troubled by the prospect of altering the natural course of childbirth. Despite the efforts of Rachel’s friends and her AI therapist, Alvy remains unyielding in his resistance, but his love for Rachel and her unwavering desire to have a child ultimately leads him to reluctantly agree to proceed with the pod-based childbirth.

Over time, Alvy goes from skepticism to becoming fascinated with the pod, eventually becoming affectionate towards it as the child within develops. This eventually results in him treating the pod like a child, though he still retains his principles and attunement to nature. By comparison, Rachel grows more distant with the pod, as she is plagued by doubts and dreams of being pregnant. She also ends up facing hypocrisy and disdain from her coworkers when she brings the pod to work.

Eventually, Rachel and Alvy begin to harbor growing doubts and apprehensions about the Womb Center. The company alters its agreement terms in response to a rising demand for its services; the company now seeks to expedite the childbirth process, reducing it to a shorter 39 weeks and swiftly emptying the pods for the next couple in line. Rachel and Alvy, deeply concerned for the well-being of their baby, become wary of this accelerated timeline and desire to keep the pod at home and manage the birth themselves. However, the Womb Center disapproves of this, forcing the couple to covertly steal the pod from the Womb Center and take it to Alvy's residence in Shell Island, as they know the Center will search for it.

As Alvy teaches Rachel the benefits of living in a more natural setting, the couple discovers the Womb Center has remotely withdrawn its support, threatening the baby inside by preventing them from using the digital code they provided to open the pod. This results in them being forced to break open the pod themselves with a screwdriver, allowing them to safely deliver their son. The morning after, as Alvy and their new baby lie sleeping, Rachel carefully packs up the broken pod and sends it back to the Womb Center via the mail, ending its role in their lives in favor of a more natural life unencumbered by technology before returning home to cradle her newborn son in bed.

In a mid-credits scene, the Pegazus CEO is given a television interview, making perplexing claims about the company’s intentions to allow babies to choose their parents in the future, hinting at the possibility of Pegazus integrating AI more directly into human embryos to accelerate their development beyond the norm.

Cast

 * Emilia Clarke as Rachel Novy
 * Chiwetel Ejiofor as Alvy Novy
 * Megan Maczko as Elena; Novy Household "Cognitive Assistant"
 * Vinette Robinson as Alice; Rachel's colleague and friend
 * Jelle De Beule as Ben; Alice's Husband
 * Eliza Butterworth as Masha; a new generation of "Cognitive Assistants"
 * Rosalie Craig as Womb Center Director
 * Kathryn Hunter as post office clerk
 * Jean-Marc Barr as Pegazus founder

Production
It was announced in October 2021 that Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor would star in the film, which was to be written and directed by Sophie Barthes. In May 2022, Rosalie Craig, Vinette Robinson and Kathryn Hunter were reported as added to the cast. Rita Bernard-Shaw and Megan Maczko were reported as part of the cast in November 2022.

Filming took place in March 2022 in Belgium.

Release
The Pod Generation premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 19 January 2023. In March 2023, Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment acquired North America rights and released the film in limited cinemas on 11 August 2023.