MR. ROBOT is the disjointed and frenetic post THE SOCIAL NETWORK era television you didn’t realise you wanted to watch, unless you are a paranoid hacker…or just paranoid.
The show is focused on Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek); a small time cyber security worker drone with a vendetta against big bully corporations and a few screws loose upstairs.
Elliot is a highly introverted socially awkward junkie super hacker with the hopes of saving the US from debt and the iron grip the fat cat 1% has on the majority of the populace. Fuelled by his innocent notion of saving people, Elliot becomes embroiled in a plot to take down the biggest corporation in America and erase all the credit and debt information E Corp (referred to as Evil Corp) has.
Rami Malek skilfully portrays whacky hacky Elliot, his monotone voice and twitchy bulbous eyes perfectly encapsulate someone who spends their time in the dark looming over a computer screen. Unsurprisingly Rami was nominated for best actor at the Golden Globes. Malek himself has quite an unusual face that is extremely well suited to the character and adds that extra dose of intrigue and verisimilitude.
The show is constantly tense as we dig further into the chaos that is Elliot’s mind, but Elliot is far from being the only crazy this show as to offer. Enter Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallström) the slick psychopathic exec who has a very Frank and Claire Underwood-esque relationship with his wife. He will do anything to get ahead, seemingly for the only reason of getting ahead. Tyrell is the anguished Patrick Bateman of Mr. Robot.
It is good to see Christian Slater back in full effect as the eponymous Mr. Robot, the mysterious figure who enlists Elliot into his dark web of deceit. Slater picked up a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor (even if he did rob Ben Mendelsohn) and flexes his acting chops as yet another unstable super hacker with a penchant for being rash and unpredictable.
Mr. Robot is soaked to the bones in paranoia and will keep you guessing as you twist and turn, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. For such an un-relatable figure (for most), we are made to feel empathetic to Elliot’s grandiose notions of justice and liberating the masses from this modern day slavery.
The show is tightly written and, although it has broader tones of corporate greed and injustice, serves as a character study of Elliot. One isolated figure trying to find peace and companionship in a cold new world. Mr. Robot is a social critique of the dystopian present where corporations rule and no one can (or will) tear them down.
Verdict
