Things You Should Be Watching: Mr. Robot

     You guys remember that movie Fight Club? The one with Edward Norton and Brad Pitt? Back in the day that was the cutting edge of film, featuring some really in-depth philosophical conversations, shocking violence, and one hell of a twist. Well, what if I told you that there is a show on right now that has those same elements and possibly does it better? That’s right, I’m referring to the USA show known as Mr. Robot.

     Created by Sam Esmail, the show follows Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a young man in New York City who works for a cyber security company called Allsafe with his best friend Angela (Portia Doubleday). Elliot moonlights as a cyber vigilante, stalking the Internet for criminals and exposing them. A mentally disturbed and isolated young man, Elliot is searching for his purpose in the world, but everything changes when he’s approached by a mysterious man named Mr. Robot (Christian Slater). The leader of a hacker’s group called fsociety, which aims to bring down the capitalist systems that control the world, Mr. Robot recruits Elliot to join the fight against the banking conglomerate known as Evil Corp (keep that in mind, I’ll come back to it). Joined by mysterious hackers like the wild Darlene (Carly Chaikin), Elliot must pull himself together and complete the mission before the forces behind of Evil Corp, led by ruthless businessman Tyrell Wellick (Martin Walllstrom), catch up to him.

The less explained about these creepy ass masks, the better.

     First and foremost, I have to admit that as a film geek I love how this entire show is basically a love letter to David Fincher. It’s shot similar to Fincher’s films (minus the green tint that Fincher loves to employ), it uses a score that sounds eerily similar to some of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ work in Fincher’s recent films, and it even takes certain elements from Fincher’s films (the philosophical ramblings of Fight Club, the grisly violence of Se7en, and the realistic depiction of computer work as seen in The Social Network, among others). Valerie Ettenhof wrote an excellent essay comparing Mr. Robot to Fincher’s films, drawing an interesting parallel to his oft-forgotten thriller The Game (which you should also watch). Check it out, after you read this of course!

     Enough with my geekiness, let’s get into what really makes this show so great. The first, and in my opinion the most important, aspect of Mr. Robot is how it plays with the idea of perception and reality. We see the world of this show through Elliot’s eyes, and that colors the experience a lot more than you might think. You remember Evil Corp from earlier? That’s a subtle, but major point that the show makes about this topic. Whenever Elliot is in a scene, the characters around him say “Evil Corp.” When two or more characters are talking without Elliot present, they say “E Corp,” which is the actual name of the company. This is never pointed out on-screen, but it shows us the difference between the reality of the world and the way Elliot perceives it. We see this version of things for about 97% of the show, and it makes you wonder what else is being twisted by his fractured mind.

     The most brilliant example of the idea of perception is that when Elliot does a voiceover, he’s not just having an internal monologue. He is having a dialogue with the actual audience. We are an actual character in this show, created by Elliot’s psychosis. He treats us as a silent observer, always watching but never giving back to him. This immediately hooks the audience into the action, as we have now become a part of Elliot’s world and feel some kind of investment in it. Without knowing it, the show establishes a connection between us and Elliot, and as things begin to twist and turn we feel more involved in his plight. It’s a brilliant piece of storytelling, and one that really makes us care, something that the knowing winks and nods that Frank Underwood does in House of Cards lacks.

Pictured here: The most subtle imagery in House of Cards.

     Another way that the show gets us attached is by playing on our own perceptions of the ideas being presented on-screen. Fsociety is basically a bunch of Bernie Bros with laptops and the actual drive to do something, hell-bent on bringing about a revolution, but the show never asks us to side with them. We are hooked in by the actual mission, and whether or not we agree with the motives behind it is completely up to us. At points the show even undercuts this message, like when Mr. Robot gives his grand speech about his revolution in the middle of Times Square. He sounds like a complete nutcase, and the fact that people are walking by not noticing a thing while he rants about people wanting to be motivated is both a little amusing and shows how tragically misguided he really is. It’s bold for a show to present a message and then undercut it like that, and hopefully season two will delve a bit more into this.

     Mr. Robot has a great cast under its belt, but it’s Rami Malek’s performance that makes it what it is. Even at his creepiest, we still feel for Elliot because we recognize the humanity in him despite what he might be doing. There’s a scene in which Elliot has to completely dress down and psychologically attack an innocent man in order to get what he wants, and Malek sells it completely. While his face is a stone wall of emotionlessness and Elliot’s voiceover is done in his standard monotone, there’s something in his eyes, like a subtle hint of empathy for this person he’s just destroyed, that makes us still latch onto him. The reason we like Elliot so much is because we want him to get over his mental handicaps and get his stuff together, and given some of the horrible things he does on this show it takes a truly gifted performer to keep us invested without losing hope in him.

I think your reaction to this image might prepare you for the craziness of this show.

     I can’t discuss this show without mentioning the titular character, and the great performance by Christian Slater. Slater infuses this character with equal parts menace and compassion throughout the first season, giving his rants and his odd behavior more weight with the audience. Just when you feel like you have a bead on him Slater reveals a new side to this enigma of a character, keeping you on your toes. Everyone on this show is great, but it’s especially great to see Slater back in top form after years of languishing his considerable talent.

     While I’ve spent a considerable amount of time comparing this show to the work of David Fincher (there’s also little bits of Taxi Driver and American Psycho in there), that doesn’t mean that this show follows convention by any means. In fact, this is a show that breaks the mold in a way I haven’t seen in a very long time. At first it seems like a lot of familiar tropes are being set up, like the first meeting between Elliot and Tyrell suggesting that there will be a constant power struggle between the two, but that’s not what happens. The two rarely cross paths throughout the first season, which makes their encounters have more weight and suspense along with letting these characters develop on their own.

     The mystery of Mr. Robot’s identity is probably the most conventional this show gets, even though the ramifications of that reveal are what make it so affecting. While you might sit and see the turn coming, it’s the way that it affects Elliott and his world that hasn’t been explored in a form of media in such an effective way (besides, the other twists are ones I would bet my entire paycheck that you won't see coming, so I can forgive this one). And seeing how season two began with last week’s episode, things are only going to get more insane and messed up from here on out.

     Going back to Elliot, it’s important to note that this show never tries to tidy up his character or make him look nobler than he actually is. It makes no bones about the fact that he does some incredibly messed up things and hurts several people close to him in order to do what he believes is right. His crusade tramples through the lives of Angela, Tyrell, Darlene, his girlfriend/drug dealer Shayla (Frankie Shaw), and his boss Gideon Goddard (Michel Gill). Goddard, the only really good person on the show, gets the brunt of punishment as Elliot attacks Evil Corp, showing just how cruel this world is and how unflinching the show will be.

     Finally, this can’t be ignored any longer, so I’ll just come right out and say it: the hacking in this show is 100% realistic. There aren’t any scenes of CGI computer bugs breaking into a system, or stupid representations of some Hollywood version of hacking (two members of fsociety are seen mocking the classic movie Hackers), there are only scenes of hackers inputting code and typing on their keyboards. It’s not glamorous or sexy, but it’s a testament to the showrunner that it is still exciting to watch this week after week.

A dramatic reenactment of my last day at fsociety.

     There’s so much going on with this show that I’ve had to leave a few things out in order to not ramble on for thirty pages. Two other stories to bring up, though. Tyrell’s quest for power, spurred on by his borderline sociopathic (yet super hot) wife Joanna (Stephanie Corneliussen) serves as the B-plot for the first season. It has its own twists and turns that I don’t even want to hint at. Another interesting subplot belongs to Angela, who begins to take her own stand against Evil Corp, albeit in a roundabout way. She experiences things ranging from legal issues to blatant sexual harassment in search of the truth, but the path she settles on is very intriguing and should pay off nicely. Hopefully more of these complex plots get introduced as the show goes on, making the rich tapestry that Sam Esmail is weaving even more beautiful.

     The bottom line is that this is one of the most exciting, cutting edge shows on TV right now, and if you’re not watching it you’re missing some of the best work in drama in a long time. Taking the best of Hollywood techno-thrillers and combining it with a highly compelling protagonist and a unique storyline, Mr. Robot will leave you begging for more when the last scene of an episode drops. As season two gets underway. I suggest you go back and catch up while you can. You won’t regret it!

Mr. Robot airs Wednesday nights at 10:00 Eastern Time on the USA Network. Episodes are available on demand or on the USA Network website.