The Stepford Wives (2004): Robots/androids or brainwashed humans?

kernel_kate

In the film The Stepford Wives (2004, Nicole Kidman), there appear to be two strongly conflicting explanations for what happens to the women: They are being replaced by robots/androids. This is supported by the fact that Bobbie doesn't get hurt when she puts her hand on the burner, one of the other wives can transform into a kind of walking ATM, and we get a brief shot of something that looks like the robot ready to replace Joanna (plus Mike,...

Originally asked by syzygy on Stack Exchange (movies) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

uphilltech

Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:

You’re not missing anything, the film really does contradict itself. The ending says the women have brain implants, but that doesn’t explain the robot bodies shown earlier. Roger Ebert addressed this exact question, saying, “The movie seems to have it both ways.” He points out Joanna’s replacement robot and the wives suddenly becoming themselves again. The film never reconciles the two explanations. https://www.rogerebert.com/answer-man/beauty-only-skin-deep-or-is-it

Full answer by Mandarin Mania: https://movies.stackexchange.com/a/132421 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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