Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial” premiered at the New York Film Festival Monday night, and early reviews showed members of the film press calling the Sam Altman-centered film “provocative,” a “visceral corporate drama” and the director’s “best film of the decade.”
Next Best Picture editor and critic Matt Neglia wrote that “Artificial” is “as entertaining as it is terrifying.” “It’s a brilliantly written human story about power, control, ambition and greed that might be the most relevant film of our time. Andrew Garfield delivers one of his most disturbing and transformative performances as Sam Altman, capturing both his disarming charm and his unsettling villainy.”
He continued: “Yura Borisov is magnificent as the brilliant mind behind OpenAI, wrestling with the moral implications of the creation he helped unleash on the world with intelligence and empathy. Damon Albarn’s electronic and atmospheric music perfectly sets the mood for this technology-driven narrative, while Guadagnino’s cinematic flourishes are abundant, resulting in what may be his funniest and scariest film to date. Provocative, engaging and downright horrifying, it’s the film of the moment that we may not even be able to go back if the vision of the future it presents comes true.
Editor Eric Kohn called the film “a perfect black comedy.” “Andrew Garfield walks a fine line between movie monster, buffoonish tycoon, and evil genius. A fun/scary adventure that embodies the paradox at its center,” he wrote on X.
“Guadagnino destroys Silicon Valley with his obsessive pulse and a powerful farce in which Andrew Garfield completely shines,” wrote film critic Jairo Jiménez. “A feverish and visceral corporate drama that proves that what is truly artificial has never been in the machines, but in the boardroom. An essential film.”
Variety Clayton Davis wrote that “Artificial” is “Guadagnino’s best film in a decade” and that “Andrew Garfield and Yura Borisov reach new heights.”
Set during the tumultuous time when OpenAI CEO Altman (played by Andrew Garfield) was fired and then rehired by the AI giant in 2023, “Artificial” faced its own challenges getting to theaters; in June, Neon struck a deal to complete the $40 million film after Amazon MGM Studios abandoned the project months earlier after the company signed a major partnership with OpenAI, including a $50 billion investment.
Despite how hot some may think the film is, Guadagnino told Vulture that he wasn’t “afraid” of Altman’s response — or anyone depicted in the film’s response. “I think people who have a lot of power should be very aware that they need to be responsible for the community.”
And although Altman never met Garfield, the tech CEO admitted in a recent Vanity Fair cover story that the actor was “walking like me” when he happened upon a film set near his home. “One morning I was walking down the street to get coffee and there were all these cameras and there was a guy dressed exactly like me with my same backpack walking around so much that I felt like I was in some weird glitch in the simulation or something,” Altman told Vanity Fair. “It was very strange.”
“Artificial” reunited Guadagnino with Garfield, who last worked with the director in “After the Hunt” in 2025. Ike Barinholtz plays co-founder Elon Musk, Monica Barbaro plays former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, “Anora” Yura Borisov is former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and Mark Rylance plays Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton. Jason Schwartzman, Zosia Mamet, Cooper Hoffman, Chris O’Dowd, Cooper Koch and Billie Lourd also appear in the film. “SNL” alum Simon Rich wrote the screenplay.
Before the conclusion of the first, Variety exclusively reported that Neon’s awards campaign for the film will include Garfield and Rylance competing in the supporting actor category and Borisov campaigning for lead actor. Barbaro will compete for the role of supporting actress.
“Artificial” hits theaters on Christmas Day from Neon. Discover the first reactions in the articles below.
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