Underrated Crime Movies You Need To Watch
By Daniel Kim
Luckily for his fans, Steven Soderbergh keeps making films without considering retiring any time soon — again. The results of his fruitful career have almost always been compelling, whether he worked on big studio projects or small indies. Take his latest feature, "Kimi," a low-budget, 90-minute thriller released on HBO Max earlier this year. This paranoid genre exercise — using the pandemic only as a background element — isn't supposed to work as well as it does. Its premise barely offers anything unfamiliar, yet Soderbergh knows how to turn David Koepp's script into one of the most exciting and slickest films of the year.
The plot follows Angela (Zoë Kravitz), an agoraphobic techie who works for a huge tech company called Amygdala. From her Seattle home, she monitors data streams and fixes inaccuracies of the company's Kimi product. One day, she receives a recording in which she overhears a possible sexual assault happening in the background. She begins investigating the crime with the help of a hacker and decides to report it to her supervisor, who refers her to a woman in a higher position in Amygdala. That's when things go sideways as the company attempts to cover up the incident and go after Angela to force her to get rid of the recordings.
Although "Kimi" was well-received by critics, it couldn't find the same success among viewers. In this case, though, you should believe the experts because Soderbergh's flick is certainly worth the time.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
