Maniac: Episode 1 "The Chosen One!"

 Maniac: Episode 1 "The Chosen One!"

September 21, 2018


Cary Fukunaga’s newest series Maniac has potential. It feels like some sort of hybrid of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Memento. With Jonah Hill and Emma Stone as the lead actors, there is a strong core in place in terms of characters. With “The Chosen One!,” I liked the style, the visuals, and the performances. My main concern is that the episode seems lumpy and just meanders. With the advent of Netflix and streaming, commercials are not used to break up an episode…which I believe goes against this episode. There are too many things happening or sequences that go on for too long. But with any premiere to a series, there are kinks to be worked out. There is plenty of promise and intrigue and I do enjoy these weird vibes. Fukunaga also balances his work with a hefty balance of drama and comedy, so that was a nice surprise considering I did not expect much comedy based on the synopsis.

Owen Milgrim (Jonah Hill), named after the Milgram experiment which tested obedience, has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Owen harkens from a wealthy family led by patriarch Porter (Gabriel Byrne). He wants his son to protect one of his other sons against sexual assault allegations. Owen sees his father and an unseen brother as figures of authority. This mysterious brother tells him he has a purpose to save the galaxy and must keep an eye out for his contact. He sees his supposed “contact” all over the city and ends up meeting her, Annie (Emma Stone) at an experimental drug trial.

Even though Emma Stone is not here much, I loved her interactions with Owen. Her reactions about some weird dude like Owen approaching her is funny. We got to see a little of the experimental drug trial and the moderators, Dr. Fujita (Sonoya Mizuno) and Dr. Muramoto (Rome Kanda). The weird video in the beginning was narrated by Justin Theroux. Definitely can’t wait to see more of this! I liked how they designed New York City and the way people lived. Like the computers are straight out of the 90’s, but the apartments are futuristic. There is a lot of potential here, but refinement is necessary moving forward. I am piqued to see what comes next.

My Grade: B-


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