‘You think that every disadvantaged person is just like a wild animal going through our garbage?‘
Nathan Fielder is like one of those great bands who start off underground but their genius shines too bright to stay underground forever. Nathan for You – genuinely one of the funniest TV shows I’ve ever seen – introduced Fielder to the wider world and The Rehearsal cemented his place at the top table of TV royalty. Likewise, director Benny Safdie has made several beloved films that specialise in tense situations and the build-up of unbearable tension (Uncut Gems, Good Time etc). And Emma Stone… well she’s Emma fucking Stone. Probably the best actress in the world right now. Together they create awful, excruciating, unforgettable magic…
Whitney (Stone) and Asher (Fielder) Siegel are in the midst of creating some kind of nonsense daytime TV show about property development and gentrification. Asher’s director frenemy Dougie (Safdie) wants to take the show in a more sensationalist direction whilst Whitney and Asher want to make something more sincere. Or something that seems sincere. Neither of them can decide. You will never guess where this show ends up when presented with that premise.
The curse of the title occurs in episode one when Asher is filmed giving a small child $100 before taking it back once the cameras finish rolling. It’s never clear how much actual significance this moment has and this is one of the show’s numerous mysteries. What isn’t in doubt, however, is that this is game-changing television. Truly revolutionary. The levels of cringe here reach a fever pitch that makes some moments difficult to sit through. Fielder is great as ever but Stone and particularly Safdie are utterly magnetic. There are long scenes here that are essentially just the two of them talking that I couldn’t tear myself away from.
So, what is The Curse? It’s definitely funny but to call it a ‘comedy’ would be insanely reductive. It has moments of genuine horror. It’s surreal without being unintelligible or pretentious. Daring whilst still occasionally maintaining a mainstream sensibility (the whole thing looks incredible, for example. As with The Rehearsal the set design here is top-notch). When the credits rolled on the final episode I didn’t know how to feel except to laugh at the sheer audacity of it.
As with most great art, plenty of people will hate The Curse, but many others will find themselves drawn to it like I did and one thing that I can say with certainty is that this a TV show that will endure. It might not have captured the imagination the same way that something like Twin Peaks did but you can bet it’ll be just as influential further down the road.