Mr Robot - You've Almost Convinced Me I'm Real
Prestige TV is a phenomenon I have been increasingly fascinated by over the past few years, as someone who only became aware of the concept deep into the 2010s, to think of a time where prestige TV wasn't the norm is almost unfathomable. Auteur led, 'movie quality' and artistic Television was such a radical force originally with certain shows wearing the badge of prestige with pride and dominating the public consciousness through the extreme quality of their production. The Wire, Twin Peaks, Sopranos, Mad Men and Breaking Bad are the big names within this concept. However as prestige TV became the norm and it became an easier achievable concept, the pure dilution of this concept was exhausting, so many shows promoted themselves as prestige TV and it just became exhaustingly muddy as an idea. Ironically the idea of auteur led TV was exchanged with the concept of 'public engagement TV' the kind of show that people would talk about with the same appreciation, but production companies mastered the formula for replicating that discourse to the point where so many shows grabbed public consciousness without having that authentic passion behind the original wave of prestige TV. As a result, when Mr Robot first came out I couldn't help but dismiss it as another one of those shows. A cynical part of my brain struggles to quite trust my instincts for a show like this, it presents itself as such a serious and 'edgy' current issue stylised, highly influenced by other pieces of media, that I am ashamed to say I want to turn my nose up at it. However, when I finally gave this show a chance, there was something spellbinding about the pure auteur passion that runs throughout, with all its archetypal edginess and homages, there was a defining amount of talent and creativity that made this show truly something special.
When we are first introduced to the dry mumbling scared voice of Elliot Alderson as he monologues about his hatred of society and inability to talk to the distressingly normal people in his life, you can't help but roll your eyes a little. There is an inherent gamble behind the conception of Mr Robot, it requires its audience to trust the show an enormous amount, stick with it and bare with it, this is going somewhere and where it is going is absolutely wonderful. The reason for my preamble was because I think the Prestige TV phenomena is often distinguished by not having an end goal, shows that can keep the hook for the audience and promote enough passion and excitement but with nowhere to ultimately go, the defining difference being that the most successful shows are those that hit their ending with the lead up feeling earned. So many shows risk not having a plan, or a point and usually that really shows, an inevitable final point for shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad are broadcasted immediately and you can tell that's where the characters are going. With Mr Robot I don't have the exact idea of what quantity was planned but the most stunning factor is how well the creator, Sam Esmail, manages to set up and plan where the show is going. That moment you may role your eyes at slowly becomes clear that is purposeful, the predictable reveal at the end of the first season is actually an incredibly relevant character set up that hints at the bigger reveals to come. It would be so easy to milk a show like this, to make it about a vigilante hacker group solving crimes for 8 seasons straight but the show consistently adapts and changes to made a four season arc that feels like a four season arc.
I think Mr Robot offers the best of both worlds, it keeps that feeling of excitement in terms of plot, with whatever reveal being just out of reach and tantalising to watch. Yet it also never wastes a moment, is consistently experimenting and pushing the form without being scared to alienate its audience. There are some fantastic absurdist moments grounded in our love for the protagonist and Esmail's consistent commitment to maintaining his character's relationship with the audience. There are several sequences you can class under "dream sequence" that very rarely feel like spelling out the obvious to the audience about a character, they are much richer and rewarding than that. As the seasons move on, the show begins trying more conceptual episodes with their style, the highlights being an incredible "made to look like one shot" episode, a heist episode consisting of only two lines of dialogue and an incredible 5 Act real time theatre-esque episode. These episodes make the show, the style of the show is so set and interesting, with the distinctive framing, driving score and haunting narration, but these breaks of style feel earned and add importance and weight to the moments they are showing. It itches that part of my brain that will always love just trying something creative with an episode and Mr Robot manages to do that whilst making those creative moments some of the most emotionally satisfying and thrilling moments of the last decade.
I hate opening a sentence with 'PIECE OF MEDIA is about trauma', it is such a boring and middle of the road way to discuss media when trauma is a broad well of complexity. Mr Robot is a show entrenched in trauma, but it is ABOUT trauma, not just because the main character has some awful things happen to them but because the entire narrative is a four season arc building towards growth and acknowledgement of trauma that is surprisingly subtle and consistent when it comes to illustrating these ideas. The wish fulfilment of actually impacting the world you are trapped in is something extremely appealing, the show exists in a world where our protagonist directly fights back against institutions consistently destroying people's lives for greed and arrogance. One of the defining features is the way in which this world of elitist powerbrokers work, seeing the intricacies of terrorist organisations and secret organisations manipulate these characters has that Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul appreciation of high level crime. Above this you have an incredible performance by the one and only B.D Wong as the main antagonist, a character so fascinating that the payoff for the fourth season is honestly one of the best moments of the show. B.D Wong kills it as per, but the performances are all round incredible, Rami Malek did not deserve to be in Bohemian Rhapsody, the guy is not only infinitely above that, he is also incredibly committed to this show and it really pays off. Christian Slater is the big name who provides the best work Slater has done in about a decade, Grace Gunmer and Carly Chaikin are phenomenal. It is a cast full of committed and experimenting actors who never waste a moment which you can not say about a lot of TV right now.
The show is nowhere near perfect, there are a couple of pacing issues occasionally and some character's arcs are nowhere near as effective . But to be honest, none of it dampers the effect of Mr Robot, the show is just so consistently rewarding, the amount of pure creativity and passion filling every episode makes any on the surface critiscms unimportant in the larger picture of things. When writing this review I was looking back through the seasons to find memorable moments and get my head around the show as a whole and I began to realise just how dense this show is with moments that I will never forget. The visual design is so on point, with the distinct framing being established and subverted in brilliant moments and the consistent playing with style that never feels like an arrogant excuse to show off a talented DP. When that last shot faded out, I felt so satisfied, it had been a journey that was highly entertaining, but in terms of what I find the most entertaining. Appreciating creativity is basically my current career plan, I don't have any other plan and right now the thing that is making me happiest is just enjoying pieces of well made media and discussing them, I'm clearly a person of very simple pleasures. It has been a while since I've been surprised by a show that is not only enjoyable but refreshingly passionate like Mr Robot. I could talk about it for days (I've got friends suffering from my endless Mr Robot talk) and it has had a surprisingly lasting effect on me, to the point where I can see myself revisiting the show for years to come. Thank you Sam Esmail and everyone involved and thank you for reading.