My Husband, The Cyborg Review: Self-Reflective Sci-Fi

My Husband, The Cyborg becomes repetitive as marital issues steer the narrative and the technological element fades into the background.

The “it” that Scott refers to in his quote is technology; in My Husband, The Cyborg, he undergoes a procedure to have two metal rods implanted into his chest. The idea is that, after the device is installed, he will be able to feel the magnetic field of a planet when facing north, and become more conscious of his surroundings. While our subject finds this experiment to be an exciting and fascinating experience, his wife Susanna Cappellaro (who directed and produced the film) considers the idea completely absurd. Therefore, she chooses to document the entire event, highlighting her husband’s experience and, even more so, her own.

After the rods are installed, Scott’s body continuously rejects the metal, and he experiences constant pain. As a result, he undergoes numerous procedures to have them replaced. Over the course of 32 months, it becomes clear that his decision to become a cyborg comes at a cost. Due to the discomfort that he feels in his chest, Susanna is unable to hug her husband, and it’s only a matter of time before he becomes increasingly irritable.

Throughout My Husband, The Cyborg’s runtime, we start to see the pair constantly bicker and butt heads. While Susanna believes the experiment is affecting their marriage, Scott adopts a more accepting attitude, viewing it as just how things are now in their lives.

My Husband,The Cyborg, is an intriguing idea that demonstrates how extraordinary technology is, but thirty minutes into the documentary, I couldn’t help but begin to lose interest. Once the rods are fitted into Scott’s chest and he enters the real world in his altered state, the film becomes much less about the science behind the device, and much more about how such a unique life experience starts to impact Scott and Susanna’s marriage significantly.

While this is part of the process, and no one could have predicted what would occur after the device was installed, the film quickly becomes unremarkable. The moments that explore Scott’s altered state as a cyborg are few and far between, as his arguments with Susanna take center stage instead. The problem with this is that many viewers will watch the documentary to see Scott’s experience as a human-machine hybrid rather than witness multiple disagreements between two people they don’t know who are facing challenges they can’t relate to.

The human aspects explored in the documentary are crucial to the experience. However, the couple’s inability to see eye to eye becomes repetitive and dull. Though the technological elements in My Husband, The Cyborg are truly fascinating, this documentary lacks the substance to make its runtime worthwhile. Instead, it focuses more on the fallout of Scott’s decision and how this substantially impacts his and his wife’s relationship.

What starts as a unique documentary becomes somewhat tedious and is overshadowed by the most alluring aspects—the technology and science—which take a major back seat.

My Husband, The Cyborg will be now available to watch on digital platforms in the UK and US from February 14, 2025.

Loud and Clear Reviews has an affiliate partnership with Apple, so we receive a share of the revenue from your purchase or streaming of the films when you click on some of the links on this page. This won’t affect how much you pay for them and helps us keep the site free for everyone.