The Rundown: Maniac
It’s a known fact that old trends come back with a vengeance. We have seen scrunchies come back into style, patchwork denim, the power pantsuit. There are staple items from every era and decade that watermark them as “pieces of the era”. There’s one show in particular that takes pieces from the past and elegantly blends them in with a not so far off future. I’m talking the Netflix series Maniac. It is a perfect blend of futuristic science fiction with a nod to vintage television and aesthetics. Maniac is a limited series Netflix Original created and directed by Cary Fukunaga. It is a dark comedy that tells the story of a pair (played by Emma Stone and Jonah Hill) who find themselves connected through a pharmaceutical drug trial. As opposed to their usual type casting as funny or goofy, both characters have a troubled past that brings them to together at Neberdine Pharmaceutical and Biotech. Thanks to clever lighting, attention to detail, and an imaginative team, Maniac is something that mixes the drama and sci-fi of Black Mirror with a dash of humor that we loved in Superbad (without going overboard).
Owen Milgrim, played by Jonah Hill, is the son a wealthy and renowned businessman. We find out very quickly that he suffers from mental health issues and that his family sees his schizophrenia as a huge flaw in Owen’s character, making him the outcast of the family. Throughout the series, we also find out more about Owen’s brother, Jed and his connection to Owen’s schizophrenia. The Milgrim family is a portrayal of all the things wrong with the 1%. Even the name Milgrim was an homage to the Milgrim Experiments, which dealt with a person’s response to authority when given a command contrary to their own moral beliefs. Since Owen decided to not live under the financial comfort of his family, he finds himself out of a job. He turns to a high risk drug trial in an effort to make some money. While he is there, he runs into Annie Landsberg.
Annie Landsberg, played by Emma Stone, is a young woman with an emotionally traumatic past. At first, Annie is portrayed as a woman with no sense of direction. She is shown as a pill head trying to get her hands on what is called the A pill. The A pill is the first of three trials in this experimental trial. We learn much later that the purpose of the A pill is to cause the taker to relive the most traumatic experience in their lives. At this point, Annie’s traumatic past is finally unveiled and we learn that Annie’s reasoning for being a part of this drug trial is much different than we thought. With an absentee mother and a heartbroken shut away father, Annie was left to fend for herself and to watch over her younger sister, Ellie. We discover that while taking a trip together, Annie and Ellie were in a horrific car accident after the driver of a semi-truck fell asleep behind the wheel. This car accident took Ellie’s life and Annie has felt responsible for it since. As Annie and Owen take part in this three part experiment, they manage to find themselves connected in almost every hallucination the pills in this trial causes. It leaves us and them wondering if their meeting was purely coincidental or an act of cosmic proportions.
With only 10 episodes in the whole series, Maniac was something I was able to watch in a couple of days. At first glance, I was apprehensive about the concept. The trailer comes across as a romantic science fiction but what Maniac is, is much more than just another Netflix Original. It is the kind of series where it is intended to be watched more than once. It does an amazing job of staying realistic through revealing emotional backstories, amazing attention to detail, and superb production work. I also have to tip my hat to the creators for explicitly making this a limited series. In an interview, the shows creator Patrick Somerville when asked about a season two made a comment saying the following:
This was always planned as a limited series, and I think that’s another reason why we had the freedom to have a more hopeful ending. A lot of times on TV, you have to throw your characters into distress again near the end to buy the next season, and we don’t have to do that. It is a tremendous amount of energy and imagination to just to make a new show, and so you do have this feeling of wanting to hold on and keep using it, because there’s so much imagination in there, but I think part of why Maniac had that improvisational feeling along the way was knowing that this is it. Let’s do it now, because this is what Maniac is.
In today’s age of television, we are stuck in a world of shows that never end and movie franchises that never die. By being a limited series, Maniac has the freedom to be what audiences make it out to be and can really be interpreted different ways. What one viewer may see as a sci-fi romance another person can see as a thrilling drama. By not going into another season and tying all loose ends together, it leaves creative room for audiences as well. All in all, Maniac really packs a punch and Netflix has once again proven their ability to put out great shows.
