“It’s not therapy. It’s science.”
If that’s the case, why are our leads in L.A. Confidential one moment, Lord of the Rings the next, something Lynchian right after and at least three more scenes before returning to a lab full of retro sci-fi and bonsais? Apparently, in the world of Maniac, if you have a broken mind, Walter Mitty-ing is the treatment.
As a result, Netflix’s latest series will follow two patients — Owen Milgrim (Jonah Hill) and Annie Landsberg (Emma Stone) — who are testing out a new, A-shaped drug from Neberdine Pharmaceutical and Biotech. It’s a cure-all, guaranteed Dr. James K. Mantleray (Justin Theroux), but how trustworthy is that claim?
While it’s all very sinister-sounding, Maniac is branded as a dark comedy. It will be interesting to see how True Detective’s Cary Joji Fukunaga, here as director, will handle the beats and the switches from The Leftovers’ Patrick Somerville.
Also joining Hill, Stone and Theroux in this wild trip, which is a remake of the 2014 series from Norway, are Lincoln’s Sally Field and Ex Machina’s Sonoya Mizuno.
The 10-episode long method to mend the mind arrives on Netflix Sept. 21. Rewatch the hyper-vibrant teaser debuted last week here. For more on Maniac, stay with The Young Folks.
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