Reviews - Wandavision, Love and Monsters

 

Two gems from 2021

When it debuted three years ago Wandavision offered a radically different scenario to the Marvel movies’ scale and approach.  Having not watched it till now I obviously know most of the twists (though not as it turns out all) but the true test of a great show is how well it works under those circumstances. Is it all twists or is there something more?

A series about the effect of grief and loss could be a dark, melodramatic production yet Wandavision eschews such expectations to deliver something playful and imaginative both in content and presentation. Most episodes play as a sitcom from a different era; starting with the Fifties and working all the way through to the 2000s. This is in itself an interesting conceit pinpointing just how tv changed over time. These pastiches  are meticulously accurate from what I’ve seen of real shows from those times right down to the slightly lame gags and over reacting audience laughter of the earlier ones and the to- camera confessions of later shows. In between we see glimpses beyond and sometimes large sections set outside the town. The effects are modestly proportioned for a tv series but used ingeniously to unsettle the comedic aspects.

This approach must have been quite a surprise when the series first aired and even though I knew the format before seeing it I was kept engaged. Elisabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany turn out to be kings of tv comedy behaving in perfect period style. Both actors give delightfully light performances; even their cadences are reminiscent of many a real vintage sitcom, yet when they need to be serious they are. What works especially well are the tiny elements that suggest we are seeing something that’s not quite right. There’s the odd repeated line, an object in colour or in the 60s episode a disembodied voice through a radio. Even the spoof ads carry clues in that Hydra appear to be the makers of some of the products. The first hint that Wanda is the creator of this world rather than being trapped in it comes in a seemingly random moment when she sees a hazmat suited man emerge from a sewer drain and says “No” whereupon things roll back.

Later the appearance of two twins who age a decade in a moment and the arrival of Pietro, Wanda’s deceased brother add more spice. The latter is played by Evan Peters allowing some meta comment as to the face change in this reality (the actor having played the character in the unconnected X Men films). The series continues to unpeel as it progresses leading to episode seven’s climactic reveal that it was Agatha All Along. Kathryn Hahn has already been fantastic as the eccentric yet oddly accepting neighbour and this development allows her to become an even larger character.  Despite the series’ title its protagonist is really Monica Rambaud whose efforts to persuade Wanda of the wrongs of her actions drive the narrative from outside the barrier separating the town from the real world. Teyonah Parris gives an impressive performance.

Inevitably the nature of the plot means characters pop up and later vanish leaving the final two episodes as somewhat more of a standard Marvel showdown with lots of flying battles and static. Yet the theme of Wanda’s grief remains prevalent and manifests in some of the scenes where Agatha forces her to relive the trauma. I’m not entirely sure why Agatha does this as it seems to be more for the viewer’s benefit but the explanation why Wanda’s domain leans on classic American tv is especially poignant. Inventive, clever and a lot of fun Wandavision has to be one of the more unique entries in the Marvel canon

 

I found Love and Monsters on Netflix and had never heard of it so thought I’d give it a watch and I’m glad I did. The film was commercially overlooked due to its release during the pandemic though its visual effects were rightfully nominated for an Oscar. Its set in a near future where 95% of the world’s population have been wiped out by the fallout of hundreds of nuclear weapons being fired at a rogue asteroid to stop it crashing into the planet. That’s what you’d call a no win situation.  Seven years later, the remaining people live mostly in subterranean bunkers to protect themselves against the giant lizards and bugs that now roam outdoors. While the premise may suggest a grim dystopian grind the film keens more toward a sense of optimism and courage aligned with a slightly irreverent tone, a combination that makes it very watchable.

Our main character is Joel Dawson, a twentysomething who has not really found his place in this world. Feeling he doesn’t really contribute to the colony he’s in and pining for girlfriend Aimee (an excellent Jessica Henwick) he decides to undertake a potentially perilous journey on foot to in find her. After all he believes his fellow colonists will only muss his making soup. So, he sets out with little knowledge and even less experience of what he might face. Such a narrative relies on an actor who can convey a lot often via voiceover or talking to a dog he collects along the way and this movie is lucky to have Dylan O’Brien who owns it from the start. He really brings Joel alive on several levels creating a warm person with whom we share the trauma ahead. Along the way his interactions with a couple of travellers and later a robot add texture to his character – a scene where he sits on a bench with the robot is lovely, Spielbergian stuff.  While there are plenty of themes the most effective is when Joel discovers his value to the colony he has left behind, a moment that shows this movie never takes the easier pessimistic route and finds positivity in even the most extreme scenario.

There are also lots of formidable creatures mostly made with practical rather than digital effects giving them a heft and menace often absent from this kind of film especially sequences involving a giant locust and an almighty crab. Sharp editing adds tension to these scenes creating a good momentum overall. Even though the story turns a little into something else near the end it never forgets its main character nor its sense of peril. You could ask questions of the story premise (like why is only some wildlife mutated and why no humans?) but Love and Monsters is involving, exciting and well deserving of your time.