Andrew Napier

I went in to this with mixed expectations. Reviews had suggested it could be a masterpiece or a pile of garbage. I can now confirm it is a pile of garbage. Anyone thinking it's a masterpiece of cinema must be blinded by the fame of the director. Let's start with the positive. The set and costume designs are quite beautiful, and the acting is pretty decent (if somewhat over the top). The movie as a whole, though is an incoherent, ham-fisted piece of work that felt like an amateur film-grad who had a big idea about the metaphor of modern America as a crumbling Roman empire was given $120 million and allowed to do whatever they wanted. Some of the scenes were so cringy and laugh-out-loud I wouldn't be surprised if Coppola comes out to tell us all this whole thing was a joke. It honestly felt like two and a bit hours of Coppola throwing every over-the-top metaphor and idea he had at the screen, hoping it stuck, and then immediately moving on to something new without exploring that idea in any depth. Like there was the virgin character whose story could have gone on to be something interesting but instead we never saw again. Then there was the Shia le Bouf's character who could have been interesting but was a ham-fisted addition to the main plot that we occasionally checked in on. Oh and lets not forget the ability to stop time: where did this come from? Was it from the Megalon? Why? Did anyone else acquire this power? What did it offer the story other than a poor metaphor for a genius's ability to manipulate things? And all the female characters were abysmally written, designed only to further the male characters around them with no substance of their own. The film didn't even know what time period it was set in. And not like a cool "Romeo and Juliet" combination of periods, but like was at 1920's noir, 1980s (I'm looking at your chorded phone) 2000's or some time far in the future where none of the technology has changed? Then the ending was so forced that I felt like a missed a whole scene because the two characters that were diametrically opposed all of sudden agreed. Where did that come from? (Sorry if that's a spoiler, but honestly it doesn't spoil anything given how out of place it is). Honestly, go in for a laugh but this is a sad and pathetic way for a great film-maker to go out. 0/10

Hands down one of the best psychological thrillers in recent times. The writing, directing, acting, music, cinematography, and set design are all perfectly in sync (similar feeling I got watching The Dark Knight for the first time where everything just worked so well). The pacing is spectacular, drip-feeding a bit of information each episode without giving up the suspence. A good thriller needs a balance between revealing some information so we know what's happening while not giving everything away so as to remove all suspense and intrigue. Severance does this perfectly. I was literally on the edge of my seat multiple times. Many people have discussed the work metaphors and how the set design captures the horrible mundanity of many offices, but I also found this to be a brilliant thought experiment on what it means to have a sense of self. Many philosophers have discussed the importance of memory and remebering your previous self even though you might be completely different. Severance was a perfect example of this; how simply changing someone's memory can almost make them a different person. I can't wait for Season 2.