A big part of faith, and something Catholicism encourages its adherents to do, is to prepare for death. This fact was brought home to me while watching a documentary about cloistered Franciscan nuns called Chosen: Custody of the Eyes (2017). In it, during the month of November, the sisters are called to reflect on their eventual, inevitable end. Eternity is so much longer than our little blip of existence, although every moment of our lives is a gift from God. If this sounds like a contradiction, then I have a film for you: Finch (2021). Not only is it set in a post-apocalyptic future that most humans have not survived, but the title character (Tom Hanks) is facing his own imminent demise. How we handle those circumstances matters, and this shall inform what I say about this film.

The question of what we leave behind gives Finch its emotional center, as a dying man in a ruined world struggles to ensure that someone he loves will survive him. Years after a catastrophic solar event destroys much of Earth’s protective ozone layer, robotics engineer Finch Weinberg lives in a former company laboratory beneath the streets of St. Louis. The sun’s ultraviolet radiation has made the surface lethally dangerous, while violent storms and the collapse of civilization have left few apparent survivors. Wearing a protective suit, Finch ventures into abandoned buildings to scavenge food and supplies, accompanied by a small robotic assistant called Dewey. Back underground, his closest companion is Goodyear, a dog he rescued after the disaster. Finch is seriously ill, coughing and growing weaker, and he knows that Goodyear cannot fend for himself when his owner dies. To solve this problem, he builds a humanoid robot (voiced by Caleb Landry Jones), programming it with extensive information and a central directive to protect the dog. When the machine first comes to life, it is awkward, curious, and inexperienced, despite its vast store of facts. Finch must teach it to walk, speak, and make practical decisions, while Goodyear remains wary of the unfamiliar newcomer. Before the robot’s education can be completed, Finch discovers that an enormous storm is approaching St. Louis and may rage for forty days, threatening to destroy their shelter. He hastily loads his possessions, the two robots, and Goodyear into a modified recreational vehicle (RV) and heads west toward San Francisco. The humanoid robot has received only about seventy-two percent of its intended data, making the journey as much an improvised education as an escape. Along the way, the machine chooses the name Jeff, much to Finch’s bemusement. Finch teaches Jeff how to drive, follow instructions, and care for Goodyear, repeatedly emphasizing that the dog’s safety must come first. Jeff, however, approaches the world with the enthusiasm and mistakes of a child. He wants to know where all the people have gone and why Finch distrusts other survivors. Finch, hardened by what he has witnessed since the catastrophe, warns him that desperate human beings can be dangerous. He is also reluctant to discuss his own past, even as Jeff’s questions gradually draw stories out of him. When Finch becomes too ill to continue driving, Jeff takes greater responsibility for the vehicle. Hoping to help, Jeff ventures into an abandoned building with Dewey to search for supplies, but the expedition turns disastrous when Dewey is caught and destroyed by a concealed trap. Finch realizes that the building may have been prepared to catch scavengers and angrily blames Jeff for failing to recognize the danger. His fears are confirmed when an unidentified vehicle begins following them after dark. Panicking, Finch drives their motorhome beneath an overpass that is too low for it, destroying the solar panels on top. Jeff uses his considerable strength to help free it, and they escape their pursuers, but the ordeal exposes how vulnerable they remain. As Finch’s condition deteriorates, his impatience with Jeff gives way to a more tender awareness that his creation must learn to live without him. He tells Jeff how he found Goodyear as a puppy after witnessing the cruelty of other survivors, explaining both his devotion to the dog and his distrust of humanity. Jeff begins to understand that protecting someone involves more than mechanically obeying rules. The journey also brings signs that the world may not be entirely dead. A butterfly appears, vegetation begins to grow, and the ultraviolet readings fall to levels that allow Finch to venture outside without his protective suit. During a stop beneath a comparatively gentle sky, Finch puts on a white suit he had saved for a hoped-for reunion with his father and reflects on the experiences he postponed before civilization collapsed. Jeff tells him about a dream in which the three of them stand together on the Golden Gate Bridge. Finch knows he is unlikely to reach it, but he has one more lesson to offer. He tries to teach Jeff to play fetch with Goodyear, whose loyalty to Finch initially makes him reluctant to engage with the robot. As they play, Finch’s coughing worsens, and he realizes that his time is almost over. Jeff helps him back to the vehicle, and Finch thanks him before going inside to rest. He dies shortly afterward, leaving Goodyear grieving and Jeff facing the responsibility for which he was created. Jeff honors Finch with a funeral pyre inspired by a Viking burial Finch had described, then resumes the journey with Goodyear. The dog gradually accepts Jeff’s companionship, even playing fetch with him. At last, they reach San Francisco and walk onto the Golden Gate Bridge, where messages left by other travelers suggest that some human communities may have survived. Jeff places a memorial to Finch among the notes and photographs, acknowledging that he was loved by both Goodyear and himself. With the dog now willingly at his side, Jeff sets off in search of other survivors, carrying forward the care Finch had tried to teach him.

These days, there is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence (AI), but Finch shows us a fictional example of how a being like Jeff can be programmed to care for others. Whether dog or human, the key to this is the protection of life, and I appreciate Jeff’s dedication to this principle. I say that as a Catholic, too. Recently, Pope Leo XIV has been warning about the negative possibilities of AI, and he is right to raise those concerns. Among the issues he has addressed are the pursuit of technology for profit without adequate regard for human dignity, its destructive potential in warfare, and the danger of surrendering human judgment and initiative to machines. What we see here is a more responsible use of this technology, even if “tool” may seem like too small a word for the role Jeff ultimately plays in Finch’s life. It is along these lines that Finch deserves some criticism. He creates Jeff as a tool, which is fine, but also gives the robot the programming and personality needed to care for and protect life. Yet Finch gets impatient with the fledgling robot, who was quite literally “born yesterday,” whenever Jeff errs in the human’s estimation. I found myself getting impatient with Finch because of Jeff’s evident innocence and, more importantly, earnestness. In Mark 10:15, Jesus tells His disciples that we must receive the Kingdom of God like a child. This calls for dependence on God and the humility to trust in the Almighty. I do not wish to equate Finch with God, but Jeff’s trusting attitude throughout the movie offers an interesting, if imperfect, parallel. That Jeff often rankles Finch while also pleasing his maker speaks to another truth. Finch sums it up when he calls us humans “contradictions,” something that the nascent Jeff has trouble grasping. At the same time, Finch suggests that it is our emotional responses that define us as people. There is value in this statement, particularly in understanding how God made us to be, although human dignity rests on more than emotion alone. Our emotional responses can also influence our relationship with God, for better or worse.

I will say that Finch is better than I thought it would be, and now I wonder why it took me so long to watch it. I stand by my periodic exasperation with Finch, but that was balanced by a solid story overall. I have no real complaints about this one.