We have Nosedive, Playtest and Shut Up and Dance. All good in their own way, and as usual, centered around how tech can ruin your lives.
Warning
The language can be pretty spicy, and obviously there will be spoilers. So let's forge on ahead!The Premise
The first episode, Nosedive, revolves around the life of Lacie Pound in a world where social approval and clout has become everything. We see how her life rapidly derails after a series of incidents which see her approval rating, er, well, nosedive.The Characters
A chunky Bryce Dallas Howard as Lacie Pound. She put on thirty pounds to play the role of the insecure chubby girl, and man, that's dedication! Gotta say, the role was very well performed too. We get to see Lacie put on a fake face for approval, her desperation for social climbing and her occasional nastiness which slips out. Howard is superb! I've seen her from films like The Village, Spider-man 3, Terminator Salvation and Jurassic World, and this lady can be such a chameleon.Alice Eve plays the Alpha bitch Naomi Jayne Blestow with aplomb. The last I saw of her was from Iron Fist Season Two, and Star Trek: Into Darkness. This role fit her like a second skin.
James Norton as Ryan Pound, Lacie's brother. This actor did great with what little material he had. The character was a slacker, and snarky, but also genuine in his misgivings as to what his sister had become in her pursuit for public approval. And the character had great lines. Like, really zingy. Guy nails every scene he's in.
There's sugary and then there's fucking diabetes.
Michela Coel makes a brief appearance as an unnamed airport service counter officer. Saw her recently in Wakanda Forever. The scene here lasts a few minutes, but she does well. That eyebrow game is strong.
Alan Ritchson as Paul Mathesen. I watched the first season of Reacher right before I watched this one, and almost did not recognize him right away. There's just not much meat to the role other than to look hunky and act borderline gay with his best bud, Ant.
Daisy Haggard overacts as Bethany or "Bets". Or maybe she was supposed to be over-the-top and Haggard did too good a job... I can't decide which.
Kadiff Kirwan as Chester, who looks pathetic and ready to burst into tears in every scene. That's the character, not the actor. Actor did just fine.
Cherry Jones as Susan. I first got a sinister vibe when she was introduced, but that was the episode gaslighting me into taking her 1.4 rating seriously. No, she turns out to be pretty all right, if a bit kooky, with a tragic backstory and all that should have served as a warning for Lacie.
Colin Moss as Paul's bestie, Anthony, or "Ant". Frat boy shit. Nothing to see here, move along.
Andrew Roux as the car booth attendant. It was a short appearance, but the eye-rolling snark was delicious!
Sope Dirisu plays the black dude who's Lacie's jail mate. Good-looking, well-cuffed, foul-mouthed. A delightful package for such a short appearance.
De-wet Nagel as Reputelligent consultant Hansen Davis. As someone who's studied Data Analytics, I had a real kick out of watching him explain Lacie's popularity stats to her.
The Mood
The atmosphere is relentlessly colorful and bright. In fact, it's artificially so, as if someone's trying just a little too hard. This is deliberate; to show the viewer just how fake and garish all this is. Everyone laughs, smiles, giggles... and is way too nice for it to be real. The episode looks like a moving stock photo in parts!
What I liked
The whole clout-chasing thing reminds me of how people Follow each other on Clubhouse and Instagram. It's very on the nose.
The look on the cabbie's face as Lacie squeals and giggles in the back seat, is to die for.
The cars. So pretty!
The booth attendant is obviously watching porn when Lacie interrupts him. While we can't see it, the sounds coming from his earbuds are pretty telling.
The way the smile on Naomi's face fades when her groom and best man are hugging it out, is a delectable nod to some social dynamics. Adds depth to the episode.
Despite having put on thirty pounds to play Lacie Pound (wow, talk about apt names!), Bryce Dallas Howard still looks yummy without that dress on. No, no pics, you pervs.
The jail cell bars are glass (probably bulletproof) or plastic with air holes. Nice touch!
Lacie's traded insults with her cell neighbor are pretty creative. And the sheer glee behind the vitriol they spit at each other, is a joy to watch.
What I didn't
I know that scene was necessary, but watching Lacie rehearse her speech was just so cringe.Lacie just asks a guy if she can borrow his bike, and he just lets her have it? How?! Before, it was shown that road users are really dicks who will kick you when you're down. Pains were taken to show that Susan was a rare exception. Plus, I don't think the guy even got his bike back!
Conclusion
This was such a typical Black Mirror storyline. Tech and Social Media fucks lives up. But yes, thoroughly enjoyable. Sure didn't hurt that they had some of the most watchable faces in cinema in this episode - Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve and Alan Ritchson.It's a strong start to Series Three, that's for sure!
No comments:
Post a Comment