Devs / Developed (2020)
Just an introduction. I say in advance - this is the best miniseries in many, many years. For me, already stood on a par with "True Detective" and "Mr. Robot" . Just go watch. That's fucked up.
A little fanboy about the author
It is important to understand right away where the interest in this mini-series comes from. Everything goes on behalf of the author. Alex Garland is now considered the most important science fiction writer in the world of cinema. His paintings are large-scale (in terms of the issues raised), beautiful, unlike anything, they are gloomy, philosophically grounded and give the viewer endless scope for comprehension. At first, his name was associated with some of the best works of Dani Boyle - he wrote "Beach" , "Inferno" and "28 Days Later" . Years later, he tried his hand at directing and showed the world Out of the Machine (Ex Machina, 2015) . The one where Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno dance to "Get Down On Saturday Night" . A couple of years later, he returned with an absolutely mind-blowing "Annihilation" (2018)- where Natalie Portman is, the acid exclusion zone and the BEAR SCREAMING HELP .
On the set of "Out of the Machine"
For two films, the director in the world of film lovers has firmly entrenched himself in the minds of the main modern science fiction film. Unlike some Nolan or Villeneuve - Garland avoids huge scale and "attraction". Each of his works will do without extra zeros in the budget, but at the same time he will tell things no more globally than those of his excellent colleagues in the genre. Plus, one should not ignore the fact that Garland has a very dense mixture of thriller and grimness in his blood, which makes his work even sharper than that of most modern authors. A lot of poetry with a bias to philosophical questions, which his stories ask without a vulgar and flashy tone. In two words - Kubrick's vibes (my personal perception).
About the series
Devs is fucked up. After I finished watching, I developed a persistent aversion to everything in general. It is impossible to watch anything, listen, read. This is such a solid, large-scale, finished work that there is no desire to dilute what he saw yet. If after "Out of the Machine" and "Annihilation" there could still be internal disputes, then after "Developers" - this does not seem possible. This is the science fiction we deserve. A living and elaborate story that raises too many topics to catch at once.
What is remarkable Garland - he managed to shoot a sci-fi story about determinism in the genre of a spy drama about a tragic friend zone. Global questions about the loss of a loved one, the inevitability of fate, God, sacrifice and madness manage to be asked against the background of very local events with a limited number of participants. Everything revolves around, literally, five or seven characters, half of whom, almost the entire series, sit in front of the monitor. The usual gatherings on the porch, the relationship of the ex, the loss of a loved one, work in the office, corporate espionage, non-accidental deaths - this is all so small against the background of the topics raised in the series.
In fact, this is the main merit of the author. Absolutely everything is built on human relationships and emotional reactions to what is happening around the fuck. And it was worked out at the "fucking" level. Every time it seems to you that the character is behaving inappropriately, time passes and everything is explained to you logically. Every time you want to fuck with convention, they poke your face into the fact that everything is thought out. When you think that the show has missed a detail, after a couple of episodes you will be casually reminded of everything (like a hidden bandage after a knife wound).
It's amazing that in such an interesting setting, what worries you most is not the laws of the quantum world, but how the characters will cope with emotional problems and the problems that have fallen on them. It is so EASY to imagine yourself in the place of EACH of the heroes - whether it be the sexiest Asian woman (Sonoya Mizuno is my passion since Out of the Machine ), the murderous head of security Kenton (that's the same scum), the former main character (Jamie is generally the heart of the series), the genius billionaire ( how fucking Nick Offerman in this series) or his IT people. All the characters are as lively as the serial format can afford.
The last two episodes are just heat. This is such an emotional roller coaster that you want to pause and smoke. Perhaps, if we exclude "Mr. Robot" from the list , then "Devs " is the best thing that has happened to me since the first two seasons of "True Detective" . The story about the fate of a very non-trivial group of characters reveals so many questions that you want to digest the whole thing as soon as possible and revise it again. Alex Garland has directed one of the best filophobic sci-fi stories I've ever seen. It feels like you have read a very dark and dramatic novel, which raises such deep questions that it makes you feel uncomfortable inside because you cannot immediately realize the entire expanse of rushing thought.
I have no idea how it happened at all that such a magnificent thing came out and went unnoticed in the world. When we were all whining about the fact that the movie ceases to shock and leave alone with our thoughts - it takes and goes out, and we look in the wrong direction. The irony is that during self-isolation, when we all withdraw into ourselves, “Devs” came out at the most suitable moment for themselves (except for falling out of the information field). The questions of cinema are raised exactly by those that we need most of all. Are we in control of our lives or are we just observers of a premeditated plot? It's time to make a choice. Life or existence. Evening entertainment or unexpected masterpieces.