Maniac (9/10) - Surreal Sci-fi Comedy with Mind Altering Drugs and AI

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Maniac is a wonderfully dark and surreal comedy set in a dystopian future of AI’s and augmented reality.

The plot revolves around the two main characters Owen Milgrim (played by Jonah Hill) and Annie Landsberg (played by Emma Stone). Their lives are irrevocably changed when they both sign up to a pharma trial for a drug program designed to eliminate emotional pain. During the trial they are given a series of drugs, catapulting them into increasingly intense hallucinatory dreams.

"I call them reflections, neurochemically they're very similar, but so is psychosis."

_{Quote from the character: Dr. James K. Mantleray (played by Justin Theroux)}

_{Image from screenshot.}

Ranging from gun-toting fur salesmen to an elven princess who can piss diamonds, the flights of fantasy provide some truly 'laugh out loud' moments. Sometimes unsettling and always interesting, these hallucinatory episodes are really unique.

Maniac manages to successfully merge many styles together in a tapestry of chaotic patterns. Comedy mixes with mystery, while the surrealist motif of the subconscious forms a jigsaw for us to piece together. I find this method of storytelling intriguing and engaging, but it may not appeal to those who don’t like a puzzle 😂

It is also a very character driven story.

Maniac opens a window into the character's inner worlds, reflecting on the pasts that made Owen and Annie the people they are today. With each new drug induced reflection hallucination, patterns emerge from the chaos of their subconscious building a picture of synchronistic lives. They become increasingly connected in these alternate realities as the AI tasked with their therapy malfunctions. Finally, as the series progresses, the border between fantasy and reality becomes blurred and the patterns of their subconscious start to reflect their realities.

For example, in episode one of Maniac we are introduced to the first of the main characters, Owen. As he sits on a bench a tour guide narrates to a group of tourists in a thick Russian accent ‘welcome to new york, this is statue of extra liberty.’ The camera pans past a statue of a winged angel holding a thunderbolt in one hand and an apple in the other.

_{Image from screenshot.}

Owen’s invisible brother sits down next to him and tells him he has been chosen to save the world.

“The pattern is the pattern.”

This scene sets the tone for the series moving forward; one of surreal mystery and unsettling patterns. As episode one progresses, we learn that Owen suffered from a mental breakdown and is now embroiled in a legal case, pressured by his rich family to provide an alibi for his big brother.

Episode two is similar but it explores the back story of the other main character Annie. However these first two episodes are very much setting the scene for the onslaught of the hallucinatory world. One of the things I really liked about Maniacs was that you end up knowing the characters intimately through the pharma/therapy process as information they had subconsciously buried is revealed, and their defense mechanisms are broken down.

The writers very skillfully create a tapestry of meaning between the worlds of the hallucinations and those of their real lives. Characters from their lives appear in their dream realities, often cast in roles that speak to the characters perceptions of certain subjects such as marriage, sex and death.

_{Hallucination scene where Owen & Annie are married}

In conclusion. If you're a person with a questioning mind, who likes to delve into the complexities of the psyche, Maniac is definitely for you. The tone throughout the series is surreal and the mystery palpable until the final few episodes.

Maniac kept me hooked right until the end.

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Likes:

• Surreal, engaging and original storyline.

• Mysterious and emotionally complex.

• The interplay between characters is poignant and reflective.

• Complex and intelligent take on the subconscious and its mechanism.

Dislikes:

• On occasion the hallucination scenes can be disjointed.

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IMDB Score: 7.8/10

My score: 9/10

Release Date: 21 September 2018 (USA)

Available on Netflix

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