REVIEWS
Severance Season 1
This 14-time Emmy nominated opening season is nothing short of a modern masterpiece - like the best Black Mirror episode augmented into an ever increasing web of yet-uncovered mysteries, held together by a beautifully balanced mix of comedy and drama.
The show follows Adam Scott’s Mark, and centres around the company Lumin for which he works. Only Lumin is no ordinary 9-5, they exercise the use of a controversial technology known as Severance, which allows them to cleave their staff’s memory such that they when they leave work each day they remember nothing of the top secret work they have performed inside, down to every last detail of the room they work in and the faces of their colleagues. [MINOR SPOILERS INCLUDED IN THE REMAINDER OF THIS PARAGRAPH] Yet this also comes at a cost, as during their time spent inside the walls of Lumin these same staff have no knowledge of the outside world, essentially being born afresh and existing only to work. At first, though there is certainly a dismaying air to the idea of splicing memory, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious cause for concern about Lumin itself. That is, until an ex employee turns up on Mark’s doorstep claiming to be his best friend and making him question the nature of his job, and even his very livelihood.
The joy of watching a largely comedic actor display their dramatic talent reaches newfound heights from Adam Scott. The nature of the story means Scott’s Mark S. starts off as the first one dimensional, two dimensional character TV has seen; but very quickly the evolving complexity allows Scott to show his profound talent for the finer finesse of acting. As previously mentioned the beauty of this show comes in its unnerving balance of comedy and drama, and no two performances exemplify this more than those of Tramell Tillman and Michael Chernus. Tillman playing a off-putting, even frighting character, yet ever smiling and sometimes goofy - his performance allows the viewer to relax at the very moment they should be most tense. Whilst Chernus is much the opposite, a comedic character in nature who’s humour comes from the seriousness with which he portrays the role. Zach Cherry and Britt Lower more than hold their own sharing a set with legends Christopher Walken and John Turturro, as all four also master the fine lines that keep us lingering between laughter and concern. While Patricia Arquette and Dichen Lachman deliver equally gripping dramatic roles for an all-round formidable display across the cast, earning a combined six Emmys for acting alone.
Yet the actors were far from the only praiseworthy contributors. A crew lead by director Ben Stiller masterfully capture the diegesis of creator Dan Erickson and his co-writer Mohamad El Masri. Theodore Shapiro’s Emmy winning soundtrack proficiently accompanies and accentuates the already eery nature of the show, while the set design provides an equally daunting contrast between the surgically-well-lit but boredom-inducing offices; and the dreary, lonely world outside of it.
All in all Severance is the perfect first season full of twists and mystery without being overwhelming. Lighthearted humour and heartwarming relationships luring you into a false sense of security so that shocking revelations may get you further and further onto the edge of your seat. Birthed through an inimitably ingenious script and carried by consummate acting, the only criticism I can give is my disappointment in having to wait for the next season.
Final rating: 9.3/10
Oppenheimer
I have long been under the opinion that the soul of cinema is under threat - not for the declining numbers of theatre tickets sold but rather for the shift in what releases encourage enthusiasm from us viewers. Where we all used to be excited for the next release from our favourite directors and creatives, we seem now to be mistakenly filled with a far greater anticipation for the next step in corporate franchises like Marvel or Star Wars. I’m not condemning those those of this ilk, I include myself within it. However, over the last year or so, a light has seemed to rekindle, a quiet flame of the delirium for the return of Christopher Nolan to our cinema screens, slowly building to its crescendo on the opening weekend at which I find myself writing this rather over-dramatic opening paragraph. The film that can, and must, explode onto our screens like the fission reaction in the heart of the A-bomb, proving that my cynical view of cinema is not yet so true that we cannot return.
…and that it did.
In typical Nolan fashion, the film is non-chronological - often one scene reveals information to us, the viewer, that could not be known to the characters in the following scene, as the previous one is yet to happen. This technique is used masterfully in the telling of the story, as well as the reverse: showing the viewer scenes A and C, while intentionally holding B till much later in the film to keep us unaware, usually to mimic the lack of awareness that a character has - most notably the conversation between Oppenheimer and Einstein, which we see extremely early on but do not hear, is later revealed to us properly at the very end of the movie. Though far from a new technique for Nolan (Memento, The Prestige), I would argue that this movie is where this technique is perfected, keeping the audience in the dark on certain matters without it being obvious to them that they are missing this information until we have seen the entire film. Coupled with the use of monochrome to divide the seemingly separate stories of Strauss and Oppenheimer, again perfecting a technique he has used before (Memento) makes this film Nolan’s masterpiece from a cinematic standpoint.
In such a multitude of actors as were employed for this movie, it is difficult to give everyone their deserved flowers. I must start at the obvious, Cillian Murphy’s performance is flawless from start to finish. Portraying a famously difficult-to-read genius is no easy feat, Murphy gives us precisely that with performance that seem largely emotionless on the surface but on a deeper inspection is filled with strong feeling that is hard to read.
Despite all this praise, I must admit, I believe true star of this film was not Nolan, nor any of the star studded cast, but rather the score composer Ludwig Göransson. I found myself pleasantly surprised when I searched for the composer, wholly expecting to see the name Hans Zimmer glaring back up into my eyes still readjusting to the luminescence of my phone from the darkness of the theater. The general use of audio in this movie is vital to the way its audience interacts with the story, but the score itself is the core facilitator of this. Filled with portamentos that keep you locked into the moments if importance and booming crescendos when the scenes are most deserving. Contrasted beautifully by diminuendos and even pure silence at climatic moments and those of great revelation. Still relatively new to composing scores of this type (having worked mostly of sports, superhero and comedy movies) Göransson has immediately displayed his ability to run with the big dogs, and I for one will be looking out and hoping he is given further opportunities to work with legendary directors.
Final Rating: 8.1/10
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