Netflix has been on a stampede in the past year, going over the top with original content for just about every variety of viewer. Enjoy modern absurdist comedy? Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt is a fun time. Fan of superhero drama? Marvel’s Daredevil can’t be beat. But what if you’re particular to dropping heavy doses of LSD and passing out in front of your laptop? Well fortunately for you, Netflix has brought us Sense8 — a pretentious mix of small-scale storytelling and big-scale theology.
Sense8 comes from the Wachowskis, who have made a legacy out of divisive projects. Everybody loves The Matrix, but the following sequels haven’t got quite the same acclaim. Depending on who you ask, Speed Racer is either an exercise in the ability to cause migraines through spectacle — or an innovative masterpiece of adaptation. Personally, I’m partial to Cloud Atlas, the teams’ 2012 flop that ambitiously links together six narratives into one tale. Which is why it’s particularly damning that I can find almost nothing enjoyable about Sense8.
Akin to Cloud Atlas, Sense8 is a story of linked stories. We follow eight different characters, who begin to experience hallucinations of a woman in white dress. Slowly, elements of one another’s lives start to leak across the boundaries. The overarching message of togetherness isn’t just obvious, it’s impossible to miss. These eight characters touch nearly every continent, every race and every sexuality. The opening sequence plays out like a travel documentary, drooling over every exotic landscape.
However, this narrative task immediately proves to be daunting. We’re given next-to-no introduction to these characters, stepping into their stories already in progress. A woman in India dreads her coming wedding day. A pair of thieves in Britain mourn their father. A young man in Africa owns a bus adorned with Jean Clause Van Damme. A DJ in Ireland stands around as her business partners have a very blunt conversation about transhumanism. Just as one starts, it abruptly cuts out — unseen for another 10-15 minutes as new characters are introduced.
Dialogue often comes across as still and forced, leading to characters bluntly declaring their innermost thoughts. There’s no time for character development or depth, beyond the teases of larger mysteries. The plot promises deeper moral revelations — but if they’re held to the same standard as the show’s smaller storylines, I have little confidence they are worth investigating.
Sense8 attempts to tell eight stories at once, yet it suffers from the fact that none of them are particularly interesting in the first place. None of them are given the proper time to develop, resulting in a messy assemblage of heartfelt moments, comedic relief, and other “necessary” plot beats. We touch on the crucial moments of these stories, never taking the time to revel in the breaks that makes them mean something. For an accurate recreation of the Sense8 experience, open up eight different SparkNotes pages for various memoirs, and just switch between them every three minutes.
Typically, I love the Wachowskis for their wild ambition. But its’ only worth something when the execution has merit. Sense8‘s clunky script, unoriginal direction, and pretentious tone make for a consistently unpleasant time.
Follow Chris Berg on Twitter @Mushroomer25