Kudos to Luke Medina whose story Renner became a feature film directed by Robert Rippberger. Luke and Martin Medina cowrote the screenplay. I happened to be browsing IMDb for information on one of our Filmmaker Mixer guests, when the poster for Renner unexpectedly popped up in my feed. Later that day, I had the chance to coordinate with Millennial PR to interview its director—pure serendipity.
Robert Rippberger will be joining us on the Filmmaker Mixer Podcast, so I made it a point to closely analyze the film’s direction. I soon lost my focus because I was absolutely mesmerized by the performance of the lead actor, Frankie Muniz. To sum it up, Frankie put in the work! His portrayal of Renner was a masterclass in dedication and craft! Frankie created a believable and empathy-worthy character in Renner.
Simply watching Renner go about his daily personal hygiene and chores reveals unspoken-personal wounds. These wounds are explained in the story in a very organic conversation with his new friend Jamie. Jamie is the object of Renner’s affection and the ultimate test of whether he can apply the life coaching guidance from his AI mentor, Salenus. More specifically, Salenus is helping him gain the confidence to develop a meaningful connection.
But this longing is established even before it applies to a human. From the very start, when Renner asks his AI prototype, Salenus, why she is helping him, she remains silent. He refines her coding, and later, when he poses the question again, she finally has an answer. This seemingly small detail evolves into a brilliant rhyming scene, culminating in an unexpected third-act twist that delivers a powerful payoff.
Most films about artificial intelligence use the axiom that AI cannot lie. This was notably used in the feature we recently reviewed Companion where Iris, the titular character, (spoiler alert) also can not lie and the clever way this raises the stakes is one of the reasons I loved that movie so much. It is also a very interesting detail in Renner given that Salenus does show evidence of intellectual growth, which includes interesting details related to how she answers/not answers questions.
Returning to my analysis of Rippberger’s direction, I focused closely on the characters in various scenes, looking for subtle details that Rippberger would have elicited from the actors. Sure enough, during a dinner scene with Renner, his new friend Jamie, and her brother Chad, I caught Chad exhibiting peculiar behavior in the background—an intriguing directorial choice that added depth to the moment.
It reminded me of the movie As Good As It Gets and the restaurant scene where Jack Nicholson’s character behaves rather oddly and nervously as Helen Hunt’s character is thanking him for saying the nicest thing anyone has ever said to her. I remember watching the ‘special features’ of that film and hearing Jack explain the exact creative choice he made in that scene. It perfectly aligned with what I had initially suspected was happening when I first watched the movie.
Armed with that memory, I started my own speculation about Chad’s motivations given the way he behaved behind Renner’s back, while seated at the table exhibiting an unspoken agenda. BOY WAS I RIGHT and I couldn’t believe it… it was all very shocking. I don’t want to spoil this film any further.
I truly enjoyed Renner and was captivated by the many thoughtful choices Rippberger made. One particularly mesmerizing moment was Renner and Jamie seemingly connecting in a beautifully lit space—a striking cinematic choice. Renner is filled with similarly compelling moments, inventive angles, and cleverly repeated scenes that never feel redundant. Instead, they effectively emphasize the OCD that dominates Renner’s daily life, pulling the audience deeper into his world.
All of this deepens your investment in Renner’s journey, making his pursuit of a happy ending even more compelling. I won’t reveal more but encourage you to watch Renner for yourself. It is available on demand March 28. Don’t miss this must-see performance by Frankie Muniz whose Emmy and Golden Globe nominations should one day also include Academy Award nomination and/win due to the quality of the performance that Muniz is capable of delivering.
Melody Lopez, Producer, Filmmaker Mixer Podcast -posted by Madelyn, Correspondent, Filmmaker Mixer