CALIF ORNIA DREAMING
SHOULD YOU BE A DEVOTEE of writer-turned-director Alex Garland’s output over the last two decades, there’s a good chance you like your sci-fi erudite, visually arresting and pretty damn trippy.
Just about every one of Garland’s films – including Sunshine, Ex Machina and Annihilation – have progressively studied humanity’s increasingly difficult dance with technology. And with his first television series, Devs, it’s not hyperbole to posit that this is the culmination of his ruminations on the theme, brought to life in a spectacularly esoteric and profound fashion.
PROVERBIAL ONION
Arguably, television is really the only format capable of accommodating Garland’s storytelling proclivities now. While his film work has been lauded by critics and audiences ( earned him Academy Award and BAFTA screenplay nominations), studios, on the other hand, really don’t know what to do with him. Garland’s brand of thoughtful, original IP is the kind studios win awards for, but don’t know how to market well in a cosy booth to discuss his first limited series, the film business has turned into “a fight” for him, of late.
