The series "Maniac": cyberpunk and loneliness in the style of the 80s

On September 21, the series "Maniac" was released by director Carey Fukunagi. This is the story of two patients who agreed to an experimental treatment for mental illness. Before the premiere, the series was presented as a black comedy about mind games. But in fact, he is a very emotional and vivid statement about the loneliness of modern people and ways to cope with internal problems. All this is shown with a good sense of humor and wrapped in a cyberpunk shell, where the fashion of the eighties is combined with the technologies of the future.

Retrofuturism and unhappy people

The action takes place in a world similar to ours. But from the very first episodes, the viewer is hinted that the development of technology here has gone in a slightly different way. Everything seemed to freeze at the level of the eighties: convex monitors, huge computers and dot matrix printers. At the same time, there are VR glasses and devices that allow you to have sex in virtual reality.

This is a world where Betamax videotapes won and Steve Jobs was hit by a bus. A lot of accidents between the eighties and our time led to a different course of events.

Patrick Somerville screenwriter

In addition, artificial intelligence is developed here, and a person can leave a car instead of himself that will communicate with his family. This, incidentally, connects "Maniac" with some episodes of "Black Mirror". The future is not shown deliberately gloomy, as in Blade Runner, but serves only as a background for the story.

Even before the main action begins, the authors say that literally everyone who is shown on the screen is very lonely. They can hire a Proxy Friend to hang out with someone. He portrays an old friend and discusses any topics of interest. And even chess in the park has to be played with a mechanical koala.

The development of technology does not allow improving communication, but on the contrary, isolates, creating the illusion of prosperity. If someone runs out of money, he calls an "advertising friend" - he pays for purchases or travel, but in return reads an advertisement for a certain time.

And as if the reflection or collective image of all people are the two main characters. Owen Milgrim (Jonah Hill) is constantly under family pressure. He was born into a wealthy dynasty that made a fortune by manufacturing robots for cleaning dog poop. His relatives are harsh, assertive and aggressive. Owen, on the other hand, is reserved and soft. Ten years ago, he had a nervous breakdown and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Since then, he sees an imaginary brother obsessed with a conspiracy theory.

Annie Landsberg (Emma Stone) lives in poverty and spends all her money on psychotropic pills. Her mother once left the family, and her sister died in a car accident. Annie feels guilty and is fenced off from others by constant rudeness. She takes medications and constantly experiences the day of her sister's death. This is both a punishment for her and an opportunity to be with a loved one again.

Owen and Annie are at first presented as complete opposites. He is indecisive and timid, she is sarcastic and arrogant. Although, if you think about it, they have a lot in common. Both of them feel completely lost and are constantly tormented by feelings of guilt. Owen is forced by his father to give false testimony in court, and he is too afraid of it. Annie considers herself guilty for the death of her sister.

This brings them both to an experimental laboratory, where they promise to free them from negativity. True, Owen goes there in order to earn money and gain independence from the family, and Annie wants to get another portion of the pills. But it is they who become the main participants in the experiment. In a strange way, the heroes begin to have common visions, and they realize that they can help each other.

Complexes and mind games

After the first episodes, the plot goes far beyond the main story. Secondary lines show exactly the same lonely and notorious people. Dr. James Mantleray (Justin Theroux), who once invented the very idea of treatment, cannot get rid of the problems associated with a tough and domineering mother. And even a computer, whose intelligence is based on the personality of this very mother, also falls into depression.

This reminds the viewer that we are not talking about specific characters, but about a whole world of unhappy people forced to fight their inner demons. Moreover, this struggle is shown through a phantasmagoria, equally saturated with humor and madness. To make the situation clearer, Annie and Owen are sent into various fantasies, and they have to look for the lost chapter of Don Quixote, then work as an undercover FBI agent, or even turn into elves.

But in fact, these crazy stories show completely realistic stages of healing that everyone who wants to get rid of such complexes must go through. First, Owen and Annie recognize their main problems and their root causes, get rid of the guilt complex, and then give up the constant experience of the past and move on. At the same time, the final episodes clearly show: to cope with this, you will need the help of someone close and understanding.

The series "Maniac": Emma Stone and Jonah Hill

It's not so serious

Ease of filing is another important plus. Writer Patrick Somerville and director Carey Fukunaga have created a universal story. It changes depending on how attentive the viewer is.

If you watch the series half-eyed at lunch, it will seem like just a strange tragicomedy about two madmen. If you think about it, this is already a story about our life and common problems. And if you also peer into small details, then "Maniac" turns into a whole collection of references to classic films and Fukunaga's previous works. There is also the director's favorite scene, where the entire shootout was filmed without gluing so that it creates a sense of presence. There are many hidden symbols in the visual range: you can look for repeating numbers 1 and 9, Rubik's cube, mentions of "Don Quixote" and other important little things.

The series "Maniac": features of the genre

At the same time, there are plenty of comedy scenes. The authors take characters into fictional worlds, allowing them to play several roles on the screen at once. And the "logic of sleep" assumes that any madness seems justified. In one episode, the heroes must steal a lemur, in another, they must meet elves and witches, and in the finale, aliens appear altogether. There is no need to explain this in any way - everything happens in the head of mentally unstable people, so you can entertain the viewer so that he does not get bored at the screens.

This creates the atmosphere of a slightly comic series with references to familiar scenes and plots. But under the frivolous shell is hidden a real drama, after watching which you want to hug your loved ones more tightly and once again call your friends.