by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Welcome to Cross-Platform Partners! In honor of a new movie release, I have selected a TV show to watch to pair with the movie. Think of it as a way to get hyped for the new movie, a preview of things to come, a means to tide you over if the movie won’t be released where you live for a little while, or a change of pace if you’ve run out of related movies or sequels.
For December, I picked Maniac to pair with Poor Things.
Academy Award-winner Emma Stone has made a name for herself with a wide array of different performances. She has been in comedies, action movies, musicals, and dramas. It’s that diversity that makes her such a wonderful performer. She can literally do anything when it comes to Hollywood. Although her film career has made her successful, Stone has a few TV credits as well. Besides the now-running The Curse, Stone’s most well-known performance is in Netflix’s trippy miniseries, Maniac.
Set during a psychological study, Annie (Stone) and Owen (Jonah Hill) are participants looking for a drug that will help solve any problem that they have. The study, conducted by the mysterious Neberdine Pharmaceutical Biotech, has questionable ethics and risks the lives of all 12 of its participants. Led by a couple of brilliant but erratic scientists, each participant goes through a mind-warp of a lifetime.
Maniac’s greatest asset is the possibilities it wields during the study. The idea that there’s a medication out there that can magically cure all your problems is so symbolic of society today, where people find a quick and easy way to fix their issues with drugs alone. Shining a spotlight on the dangers of the pharmaceutical industry, the show displays the lengths companies will potentially go to find a cure for something that is ailing people. Don’t get me wrong, the individuals in this study do have trauma that needs to be addressed. At the end of the day, though, they are looking for a shortcut to something that takes a lifetime for many people to figure out: how to deal with mental health and trauma.
Trauma is a major theme in Maniac, with a focus on ways to relieve the pressure that comes with handling the fallout. Annie and Owen’s stories are both devastating, and as we discover more about both situations, we learn the impact that the trauma has on both of their lives. There is no easy way to process grief or the consequences of decisions, but the study attempts to relieve the anxiety and guilt that comes with trauma, and in turn, have individuals feel nothing. If it sounds too good to be true, it absolutely should be, but medicine tries to find several ways to fix problems with the body.
There’s unfortunately no greater source than family, and Maniac makes sure to showcase just how stressful and hard someone’s family can be on them. Each of the main characters has some sort of issue when it comes to family that is explored, and it shows how one mistake or one instance of telling the truth can take a toll on someone’s family forever. Maniac balances comedy and charm with some truly crushing moments for these people. Even the person running the study has family issues that plague him.
As much as I love the themes of Maniac, two more things need to be showcased. First, on a technical level, it is visually stunning. Each part of the study unlocks a different part of someone’s brain. Because of that, several of the episodes are completely different scenarios, timeframes, and genres. I thoroughly loved this decision, as it represents just how different everyone’s brain operates, and how everyone processes things in unique ways. Everything from the color palate and set design, to choices in camera angles and direction queues, make for quite the spectacle.
For actors like Stone and Hill, Maniac must feel like a dream. Their performances have so much diversity because the possibilities are endless with all the testing sequences. It’s really one of the greatest parts of the series when we go into their characters’ minds to help them process their trauma. Stone, in particular, stands out as a stronger performer, as she wields more emotionally resonant moments throughout the series. This isn’t to say Hill is a slouch, though. Let’s just put it this way: If you had told me that these two would be doing such amazing work when they were both in Superbad together, I would have called you a liar. Both Stone and Hill bring such depth and texture to their characters in remarkable ways. They are complex and unreliable, but the performers make you care about these people in a way others could not have.
Maniac will go down as one of the more unique miniseries that Netflix has to offer. I fear that it’ll get lost in the shuffle of the streamer’s miles of content. However, for those who are looking for a challenging series that is funny, moving, and thought-provoking, with beautiful imagery and daring performances, Maniac should go to the top of your queue.
You can read more from Mike Hilty, and follow him on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Serializd