Devs

Starring: Sonoya Mizuno (8 episodes), Nick Offerman (8 episodes), Jin Ha (8 episodes), Cailee Spaeny (8 episodes), Stephen McKinley Henderson (8 episodes), Alison Pill (8 episodes), Amaya Mizuno-Andre (8 episodes), Zach Grenier (7 episodes), Jefferson Hall (6 episodes), Karl Glusman (4 episodes), Georgia King (4 episodes), Brian d'Arcy James (1 episode)
Directed by: Alex Garland (8 episodes)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction
2020

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Sonoya Mizuno) questions an ultra secretive department within the high tech company for which she works.

Review:
Tim: I'm definitely a big Alex Garland fan. I was a huge fan of his science fiction films, Ex Machina and Annihilation. His voice is a strong one within the genre, so I was 100% in when I heard he was creating and directing all 8 episodes of a miniseries on Hulu. Devs is a fascinating series. At times, it was jaw-droppingly brilliant. At times, it was annoying and frustrating. It teetered between being overwhelmingly cool and frustratingly small. In the end, while I believe this is a flawed series, I very much enjoyed it. The end result is something unexpected, but unique. It further cements Garland's voice as one of the most unique and memorable working today.

There's so much to like about Devs. I loved the look inside a secretive tech company, especially with the mystery of what they are doing in Devs. The journey creates so many incredible moments. I loved the scene where Sergei vomits in the bathroom. The incredible tree lights created haunting, beautiful imagery. Moments of a fuzzy screen in Devs and slowly realizing what it revealed was truly stunning. I enjoyed the mystery and the intrigue and the look at what technology leaders start to believe. It was a fascinating portrayal of the rapid advancement of technology and asked the question of what men and women will do when technology opens up doors that lead to worlds with no boundaries. The journey here was incredible and while I didn't love every decision Garland made, I was still so thankful to be able to go on this journey with him.

One of my biggest complaints about this move is featuring Sonoya Mizuno in the lead role. Lily is easily one of the most boring protagonists I've ever seen. Mizuno is such a forgettable actress. She didn't do anything here that really mattered. Her performance felt so one-note- mostly just blinking in confusion, trying to convey a swirl of emotions underneath the surface. Her performance was routinely unconvincing. I really believe this is on Mizuno. I did some research into where I've seen her before. I know she was in Garland's Ex Machina, but my review doesn't mention her. I didn't comment on her in my review of Crazy Rich Asians, either. My two line comment of her job in the miniseries Maniac was, "Sonoya Mizuno was fine. She had a few good moments here and there." Mizuno is just not a good actress, nor is she a memorable one. She struggled mightily in the lead role. The scenes with Lily more often than not slowed the overall story down. Now, while Mizuno is chiefly responsible for this, Garland deserves some hits, too. His protagonist is easily the least interesting character in the entire show. Mizuno needed to be better, but we needed more of a reason to care about Lily. If she's going to serve as the audience's proxy, we need more of a reason to care than (SPOILER), "Her boyfriend died and she's sad." I can't remember ever seeing a show I liked so much that featured such a poor protagonist.

Fortunately, the rest of the cast outside of Mizuno is excellent. Nick Offerman was definitely an unlikely choice for the role of Forest, but he was absolutely the right choice. I know of Offerman more than I know him, but I was blown away by what he did here. So much of his performance is restrained, subtle. Yet, he is able to convey so much. He becomes this larger-than-life figure. There's things he does that we should hate, but we find ourselves giving him a pass. He's a fascinating character and while he's driven by a fairly simplistic goal, the way he tries to get there is so involving, so entertaining. I loved what he did here. Jin Ha is interesting because he's Mizuno's sidekick through much of the series, but I found him substantially more interesting than the lead. His concern for Lily is touching and as the series progresses, you find yourself routinely impressed by his character. Garland's writing for Jamie is really good, but Ha brings out the best of his character. He was able to elevate the character in ways Mizuno has no hope of doing. Cailee Spaeny and Stephen McKinley Henderson were fantastic supporting characters. I just loved them so much and I perked up every time they were on screen. They worked exceptionally well together and both created memorable, interesting characters. Their roles aren't large, but they make an outsized contribution to the series. I've never been a big Alison Pill fan, but she does fantastic work here. Her performance is odd, unexpected. She keeps the audience at a distance, but she makes her mark as Katie. She's really good at creating this character that elicits complex emotions from the audience. We're never told what to think about Katie, those decisions are left wholly up to the audience. Zach Grenier was incredible. He shifted into so many different aspects of this character. He could be kindly and caring, and he could be coldblooded and chilling. It's an exceptional performance in a smaller role. Grenier could have been an afterthought here, but his Kenton makes a lasting impact. Karl Glusman was really solid, too. His character arc was unexpected, but he does things in that first episode that set the tone for the entire series. This show wouldn't have been as good as it was without his strong work.

Devs is a really good series. It's thought provoking and touches on bigger issues than technology, conspiracy, and murder. It asks some big questions about the future (and the past) of our species. Garland's series is uneven and certainly has some flaws, but they are mostly forgivable because of his ambitions. I really enjoyed these 8 episodes and I can't wait to see where Garland goes from here.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Ex Machina, Annihilation, Maniac, Fringe