Philip K Dicks Electric Dreasm Season 1 Episode 2 Review
It's fitting that "Philip G. Dick's Electrical Dreams," a handsome new anthology series from Amazon, exists in several realities at one time.
It contains homages to classic space operas of the past, besides every bit bulletins from our jittery and surveillance-obsessed near futurity. And like much of the American populace at this surreal moment in time, many installments of "Electrical Dreams" appoint in debates almost the nature of truth, and wonder if our robotic companions are ominous threats — unless the consciences that arise from their circuitry comprise the seeds of our salvation.
And what is it, exactly, that we're saving? Dick's fictional works still resonate decades afterwards his death partly considering of the generous spirit at the core of his marvel. His stories proceed to be turned into movies and films ("The Man in the Loftier Castle," "Blade Runner" and its sequel, to name a few) non just because they contain hardy, freaky bounds that can, in the right hands, make for stunning visuals and adventurous storytelling.
Beyond that utility, Dick'due south fiction frequently explores the idea of whether the label "homo" should draw a far larger array of beings than the cocky-sabotaging just sometimes spectacular meat sacks that litter this planet. Nonetheless weirdly Dick'southward visions unfolded in his work — and nonetheless they're explored in the generally thoughtful "Electric Dreams" — the correct characterization for any entity exhibiting compassion, forethought and altruism doesn't necessarily demand to exist "human." When reading Dick, it's hard non to arrive at the idea that the goal for all — past and present, metal and mortal — should perhaps involve appending a vowel on the end of that give-and-take: "humane."
And from a less philosophical perspective, 1 hopes "Electrical Dreams" will not end up equally a blip on Amazon'south streaming service. Clearly, the studio spent big on this series, which, forth with the similarly stylish and paranoid "Black Mirror," is part of an exciting anthology revival in TV. Simply information technology'south difficult non to wish that the "Electric Dreams" artistic team had put the episodes in a unlike social club: The two best installments arrive near the end of the run, when sci-fi aficionados may yet be on board only casual viewers may accept wandered off.
The first installment, "Real Life," blends cop procedural and virtual-reality ruminations and boasts a fine cast, merely it travels somewhat threadbare story pathways and has a problematic ending. The lively second installment, "Autofac," is much more than successful and stars Janelle Monáe equally a client service interface for a faceless and unwittingly genocidal corporation; her survivalist counterpart is played by the delightful Juno Temple. Either woman, and either character, could anchor her own Television set series.
The core elements of "Autofac" — which involve robots, corporations and rampant capitalism gone awry — are generally quite familiar, but for the most office, "Electric Dreams" doesn't attempt to revolutionize the sci-fi anthology format or become to wildly inventive places. It offers an assortment of meat-and-potatoes infinite- or tech-oriented scenarios, and "Autofac" is one of its representative successes, in that the energetic execution of a solidly told story and the skills of a very skilful cast prevail over a slight sense of thematic déjà vu.
Those short on time should skip straight to "The Commuter" and "Incommunicable Planet," which are both superb. "The Commuter," a showcase for the terrific range and empathy of Timothy Spall, has the quietly unsettling atmosphere of a classic "Twilight Zone" scenario. In it, an everyman succumbs to the lures of a fantasy life that winds upwardly being less attractive than it first seems, but the deft script by Jack Thorne mixes in notes of lyricism and hope.
"Impossible Planet," from "The Night Manager" scribe David Farr, ofttimes feels like a lost episode of "Star Trek"; information technology's prepare hundreds of years in the future, but it has a timeless quality. This lovely parable embraces romance, grief and the shifting sands of retentivity in a story that is both elegantly contained and overflowing with emotion. The chief cast members — Geraldine Chaplin, Jack Reynor and Benedict Wong — gel brilliantly, and special credit goes to the designer of the creepy robot on lath the episode'due south interstellar pleasure craft.
Like a good brusque story, a successful anthology episode must efficiently attain its goals without scrimping besides much on globe building, depth or characterization. It's a difficult goal to achieve, but those three installments make information technology await easy. A few other entrants were satisfying, fifty-fifty if they occasionally seemed to need a narrower range of objectives or a piddling more room to expand.
"Human being Is" gives viewers the prospect of Bryan Cranston equally a buttoned-up, brusque space general, and Cranston and Essie Davis, who plays his married woman, turn in admirably nuanced performances. "The Hood Maker" concludes a bit abruptly, but it sets up a thoughtful premise that could use even more follow-through, given the chemistry between the future cop played by Richard Madden of "Game of Thrones" and Holliday Grainger's watchful, wary telepath.
It'south entertaining to see "Westworld" and "Borgen" actor Sidse Babett Knudsen play a redheaded film noir dame in "Crazy Diamond," which takes place in a suburb that manages to be drab, futuristic and anxiety-provoking all at once. "Kill All Others," "Safe & Sound " and "The Father Affair" have twists or endings that are adequately like shooting fish in a barrel to guess, just each offers performances that make it worth a look.
All in all, "Electric Dreams" contains more hits than misses and a couple of real gems. Let's hope that it is the shape of things to come: a sign that television is going to invest heavily in science-fiction storytelling that is diverting, eye-catching and dramatically pleasing.
Individual episodic credits (my five favorite installments are in assuming type):
"Real Life"
Director: Jeffrey Reiner
Author: Ronald D. Moore
Cast: Anna Paquin, Terrence Howard, Rachelle Lefevre
"Autofac"
Director: Peter Horton.
Writer: Travis Beacham
Cast: Juno Temple, Janelle Monáe
"Human Is"
Director: Francesca Gregorini
Author: Jessica Mecklenburg
Bandage: Bryan Cranston, Essie Davis, Liam Cunningham
"Crazy Diamond"
Manager: Marc Munden
Author: Tony Grisoni
Bandage: Steve Buscemi, Sidse Babett Knudsen
"The Hood Maker"
Director: Julian Jarrold.
Writer: Matthew Graham
Cast: Richard Madden, Holliday Grainger
"Safety & Audio"
Managing director: Alan Taylor
Writers: Kalen Egan, Travis Sentell
Cast: Annalise Basso, Maura Tierney
"The Father Thing"
Manager, author: Michael Dinner
Bandage: Greg Kinnear, Mireille Enos, Jack Gore
"Impossible Planet"
Director, writer: David Farr
Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Jack Reynor, Benedict Wong
"The Driver"
Manager: Tom Harper
Author: Jack Thorne
Cast: Timothy Spall, Tuppence Middleton
"Kill All Others"
Author, director: Dee Rees
Bandage: Mel Rodriguez, Vera Farmiga, Sarah Baker
Source: https://variety.com/2018/tv/reviews/philip-k-dicks-electric-dreams-amazon-review-janelle-monae-1202661582/
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