Maniac (2018)
Jonah Hill and Emma Stone absolutely killed it in this psychological drama (I must admit to my own embarassment that I thought Emma Stone was Elle Fanning for the entire show. I was wondering why sometimes her blond hair had dark roots and her eyebrows were dark...). Both of them have caught my eye in the past, and seeing them together was unexpectedly brilliant. The series suddenly appeared on Netflix, and once I started I was hooked. The episodic endings weren't all excruciating cliffhangers, though a couple were, but I felt like the series could have ended several times. The episodes were so well rounded and closed that they could have been stand alone movies. When the series finally ended I felt extremely satisfied. All of the actors killed it, even the extras. There was a very clever plot device that allowed for extras and supporting actors to appear multiple times, and that was the dream-like sequences of induced subconscious reality (for lack of a better term). The characters were put into a drug induced state of subconscious reflection wherein they would dream and experience alternate lives. So within that narrative there was a surface world where the characters were themselves, and there were multiple dream worlds where they appeared again in various roles. All of the various stories were interesting and creative. The acting was superb with a lot of intense realistic emotion, and no wooden acting from even the weakest extra. The story was a gripping tale of two people who's fates were intertwined amidst depression and adventure as they faced their greatest fears alongside their hopes and dreams. All of the characters were delightfully flawed. The characters were thoroughly scrutinized and deconstructed. Many of them exhibited a tremendous lack of self-awareness, but the series was incredibly self-aware as it embarassed and exposed its characters and their vulnerabilities. I found myself shedding tears almost every episode, and learning things about myself too. This show was so awesome I don't even know where to start or what to talk about. I loved the quirky doctors administering the experiments and their internal monologues. I loved how smart they were, yet how in denial of their own flaws they were. I loved how they would analyze each other and expose each other's weaknesses, and at other times they were completely wrong in their assessments of each other due to their own inadequacies that they weren't yet willing to admit to themselves. I think my favorite character was Dr. Azumi Fujita, played by Sonoya Mizuno (someone I've never heard of before). Despite her awkward nerdiness, she was elegant. I liked her intelligence, and her awkwardness only added to that. Her bob hairstyle with thick bangs, futuristic lab coat, and large rounded glasses accentuated her curvaceous lips. And normally I'm not a fan of cigarettes, but she looked really hot in quite a few scenes with a cigarette dangling between her lips.
Justin Theroux played a brilliantly complex doctor, as sophisticated as he was childishly absurd. Rome Kanda played a hilariously charming drug addicted doctor. Gabriel Byrne played Hill's intimidating yet endeering mafioso father. Julia Garner was the perfect choice for a soft sister to Stone. Garner's character was normal to an excruciatingly boring degree on the surface, but surprisingly insightful and sensitive once you dug a little deeper. The sister bond between Garner and Stone was a delightful mixture of the love/hate bond that so many siblings share. Jemima Kirke was delightful in a toned down smaller role, but she had wonderful roles in all of her portrayals on the surface world as well as the dream worlds. In one scene Billy Magnussen playing Hill's brother comes into the room and assassinates the FBI that Hill's character was informing for, one of them being Kirke. Magnussen's character senses that Hill's character is uncomfortable with it and says, “It's because she's attractive.” And it's so true. If she was as ugly as the fat black guy who got killed, the audience would have felt just as little sympathy. It's remarkable how we feel sympathy based on surface beauty like that, and the show makes a point about it. I am telling you, this show is incredibly self-aware. Magnussen was brilliant in a number of characters throughout the movie, portraying heroes and villains. But most of all I was impressed by Sally Field. I am telling you, she is not an actress that has been on my radar. Sure, I've alwasy known about her, since she is quite prolific, but I've never cared for her. I've never thought much of her at all. She's like my mom, just boring and there. I was truly blown away by her perfomance in this series. She played two characters, Theroux's mother, and the computer's subconscious that was modelled after his mother. The computer is quite insane, but does inspire sympathy, and Theroux's mother is part freudian nightmare and part insightful genius in her own right. She adopts a psychological approach that the other doctors criticise as mainstream popcorn, but is also in touch with the spiritual side of fate that the more atheistic doctors are not willing to admit to. She's brilliant in her self-deception, and lack of self-awareness as in her analisis of the solution to other characters' unwillingness to deal with their personal problems. I can hardly praise this show enough. It was almost a masterpiece. If only the music had been a little more original, but the biggest flaw for me was the cinematography. Some shots were really boring, and none of the shots were particularly interesting. If only they had a cinematograhper with as much talent as one of the supporting cast, it could have been a true masterpiece. As it stands this is still a superb series that deserves attention. I think it will be enjoyable for plebs as well as snobs, so I recommend this show for absolutely everyone! A must see!!! This is undoubtedly the best series I've ever seen. It's well above the standard for television.