Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

A young programmer starts to question reality when he adapts a mad writer's fantasy novel into a video game.

Director:

David Slade

Writer:

Charlie Brooker

Stars:

Fionn Whitehead, Craig Parkinson, Alice Lowe

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fionn Whitehead	...	Stefan Butler
Craig Parkinson	...	Peter Butler
Alice Lowe	...	Dr. Haynes
Asim Chaudhry	...	Mohan Thakur
Will Poulter	...	Colin Ritman
Tallulah Haddon	...	Kitty
Catriona Knox	...	Leslie
Paul Michael Bradley	...	Robin (as Paul Bradley)
Jonathan Aris	...	Crispin
A.J. Houghton	...	Young Stefan
Fleur Keith	...	Mum
Laura Evelyn	...	Pearl Ritman
Alan Asaad	...	Satpal
Suzanne Burden	...	Judith Mulligan
Jeff Minter	...	Jerome F. Davies

Storyline

1984. Stefan is developing a computer game based on the book 'Bandersnatch', a novel where you get to make choices and this determines the story. He has an opportunity to take his game to Tuckersoft, a software company, and have them release it. However, the more he works on the game the more his life emulates the game, with choices being made that are out of his control. Stefan appears to be going insane

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Plot Keywords:

interactive movie | 1980s | computer | gamebook | interactive | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the Black Mirror Easter eggs in the movie are Black Mirror episode titles, misspelled. The game titles METL HEDD and Nohzdyve, refer to Metalhead and Nosedive respectively.

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Goofs

In many shots, Craig Parkinson's character, Peter Butler is seen wearing eyeglasses with an anti-reflective coating applied to the lens. Whilst this technology was available, it was not available for consumer use in eyeglasses in 1984.

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Quotes

Dr. Haynes: The past is immutable, Stefan. No matter how painful it is, we can't change things. We can't choose differently with hindsight. We all have to learn to accept that.

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Alternate Versions

There is no single narrative or version. There are five different endings, each with multiple pathways to them.

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Connections

Featured in The Russell Howard Hour: Episode #2.9 (2019)

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Soundtracks

New Life
Written by Vince Clarke
Performed by Depeche Mode

User Reviews

Not as good as the hype on here would suggest

Despite the hype I see in the comments ("Mind Blown!", etc, etc) and the clever attempt by Brooker to make a multi-pathed story, the end result barely hangs together as a credible plot.

While it is fun to "control" the main character, the novelty soon wears thin and you come to realise you, the viewer/controller, just have the illusion of choice over what the character does when in actual fact you don't.

I suppose that is the point of the film, but it is hardly earth-shattering nor ground-breaking.

I'm giving this 5 stars for at least making a good attempt at a multi-path interactive film. However, as many who are raving about it now will see in time, it really falls far short of a good film. Novelty value can never replace a good story and a good story is something you will not find here.

Details

Official Sites:

Official page on Netflix

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 December 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

Filming Locations:

St. George's Walk, Croydon, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

House Of Tomorrow, Netflix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1