Fangirling: Westworld 2016

The original Westworld came out in 1973 – and for the time, it was brilliant. Michael Crichton wrote and directed the film and the star was Yul Brynner.  

Westworld - 1973 Yul Brenner

The 2016 version of Westworld is far more interesting. It’s written and directed by Jonathan Nolan, who is the brother of Christopher Nolan, and wrote the scripts for a couple of my favorite movies, Interstellar and Memento. I really admire the work of Jonathan Nolan as he plays with the idea of subjective reality. Memento is a story of a man who lost his memory and what the reality of his situation is while Interstellar is a story that takes place over time, in multiple realities.

The new Westworld is no different. Without giving too much away – Nolan tells you all you need to know in the first half of the series and shows you the reality in the second half of the series by piecing together the various threads of the story lines. All of reality is subjective for the characters.

His work reminds me, very much, of Philip K. Dick – who is best known for his kooky, futuristic stories that play with the idea that what most people think is real, is not. It’s clear to me that Nolan is a fan, but he tells his stories visually and with much more polish. The Mr. and I were joking after watching the last episode of Westworld, that the best PKD stories aren’t written by him.

The characters are well cast – Evan Rachel Wood does and stellar job as Delores, our main “host.” The actors fit for the roles they play, though I will say, Anthony Hopkins is very Anthony Hopkins. He plays his role exactly as you’d expect.

Westworld 2018 Evan Rachel Wood

I had a TON of nits to pick while the series was in flight – all but one of them was resolved by the last episode. It’s apparent, after finishing the series, that Nolan had a very clear vision of the story as he wanted to tell it.

I HIGHLY recommend watching it as soon as you get the chance.

Have you seen it? What did you think? Comments are appreciated.

Side Note – this was scheduled to publish on another blog on Christmas Day, the day I was admitted to Cedars and almost died. I moved the content here because I like it.

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