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I purposefully did not revisit Dennis Kelly’s cult-thriller Channel 4 series, Utopia (2013-2014), before watching Gillian Flynn’s Prime Video remake, Utopia (2020), as I was a fan of Kelly’s series as a teen and didn’t want to affect my judgement. In Kelly’s series, a group of super fans of the graphic novel, The Utopia Experiments, believe it has predicted many deadly diseases, and that its sequel may predict more. The group faces ‘The Network’ – an ominous organisation ruthless in its hunt for the sequel’s manuscript and for the fugitive, Jessica Hyde, all while uncovering a conspiracy. Kelly’s series was bloody, yet beautiful, its humour dry and pessimistic in the face of its characters’ trauma. This style of Orwellian, bleak dystopia, to me at least, is quintessentially British, much like Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror (2011-2019). It’s fair to say that American remakes often turn out sanitised or completely inept. However, my expectations were high seeing Flynn at the creative helm of this project, as her slow-burning expression in texts like Gone Girl (2012) is enrapturing. I definitely was not disappointed.
Flynn’s eight-episode series has finally surfaced during a global pandemic. The premise is the same, but its plot and characters have been reworked. With John Cusack, Rainn Wilson, Sasha Lane, and others involved, it’s a star-studded, multi-character cast. In the first episode, a young couple uncover the manuscript of Utopia, the sequel to Dystopia – a cult graphic novel. Dystopia, in short, describes the ordeals of Jessica Hyde – the young daughter of a genius scientist forced to create viruses by the evil Mr. Rabbit, whose henchmen are called ‘The Harvest’. A group of five Dystopia mega fans – Ian, Becky, Wilson Wilson, Grant, and Samantha – two of whom firmly believe it has predicted diseases like Ebola and MERS, attempt to get a hold of the Utopia manuscript at Chicago Fringe-Con. There, they find they’re not the only ones after it. The tone swiftly changes as we’re introduced to The Harvest – an organisation barbarically suppressing knowledge of Utopia’s secrets, by whatever means necessary. Taken by a familiar character, the group escapes from the clutches of The Harvest, only to find their exploits in pharmaceutical engineering are much bigger. With a virus and a secret cult in the mix, our group’s chances of ever living the lives they led before picking up Utopia are unsettlingly slim by the end.
The star power of the series does not take from its authenticity. Cusack’s millionaire pharmaceutical company owner, Dr Kevin Christie, is unnervingly laidback. Cusack has experience playing the arrogant, egocentric male, yet Christie (whose name bears ‘Christ’) is not the series’ focus. Dan Byrd, who plays Ian, familiar as a teen movie icon, performs the romantic everyman role well. Arby, previously played by the brilliant Neil Maskell, is played by worthy successor, Christopher Denham, and is an important creepy element. The stand-out performer is Lane of American Honey (Andrea Arnold, 2016). Her unmentionably complex character’s expressions and interactions with others will keep you nervously glued to the screen.
Kelly’s original series was eye-catching, Technicolor bliss amidst the gloomy subject matter. I sought this juxtaposition in Flynn’s series, and I found it. With cinematographers, Stephan Pehrsson and Shawn Kim working in collaboration, Utopia (U.S.) has a signature feel and atmosphere. Similar to Mindhunter (2017-2019), Mr Robot (2015-2019), and Fargo (2014-), it’s ‘cinematic’ – a defunct term which really means prestige TV. Animated sequences ripped from the pages of Utopia are haunting, Alice-in-Wonderland-like visions. The engaging cinematography is accompanied by composer Jeff Russo’s original soundtrack, which suits the techno-thriller style of the series
Utopia is worth watching slowly and is not one for binging. Originally composed of nine episodes, the eight-episode restraint feels as though it cuts character or plot development too short, as quite frankly, I wanted to see more. One particularly gruesome torture scene, something I haven’t witnessed since Only God Forgives (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2013), should be noted for viewers. This sort of violence, however, does not last throughout the series, and is thankfully countered by humour. Flynn’s series, from the offset, is jarringly contemporary – so contemporary it was difficult to withstand at times. Scenes with hazmat suits and vaccine capsules are hard not to relate to in our current predicament. And yet, this series finalised filming in October of 2019, with post-production taking place during the pandemic. Its timing is highly sensitive, therefore I sincerely urge people who have lost loved ones to hold off on watching. However, if you can, I highly recommend this to fans of the other shows I’ve mentioned. You’ll find yourself noticing small clues, even in the pages of Utopia itself, as you immediately join the characters in their struggle, perhaps even becoming sympathetic with the vilest of them. Its superb quality of design and characterisation will leave you thinking about it for days, and its final reveals will have you craving more.
Utopia (2020) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
