Binge-r #165: On Becoming a God in Central Florida + Dickinson

Pyramid Song: Kirsten Dunst (Krystal) in On Becoming a God in Central Florida

ON BECOMING A GOD IN CENTRAL FLORIDA S1

Streaming Service: SBS on Demand

Availability: Seven episodes now streaming, new episodes added weekly

Mark this one down. A scything and astute black comedy starting next Thursday, On Becoming a God… is a study of how the American Dream is history’s most successful long con. Set in 1992, it’s the story of a family consumed by FAM – Founders American Merchandise, an Amway-like multi-level marketing scheme cloaked in patriotic greed. The tapes of storied founder Obie Garbeau II (Ted Levine) are gospel to insurance clerk Travis Stubbs (Alexander Skarsgard) who believes they’ll change his family’s life, but the weathered eye of his wife, water park fixer Krystal (Kirsten Dunst) is doubtful. That it’s Krystal who the series focuses on, a resilient young mother who has scrapped her way to a modicum of security, gives the show an intriguing focus: if you know the game’s rigged, but nonetheless play, what does that say?

With its patriotic sales levels, selling networks, and spiritual fervour, FAM is a form of religion where the money flows upwards (or a cult). Travis’ recruiter, Tony Bonar (Theodore Pellerin) is Krystal’s ultimate foil: a baby-faced zealot who believes every dictum and literally shakes with excitement at the mere sight of supposed billionaire Obie. “You’re the Pope of nope today,” Cody tells Krystal after she shoots one of his many suggestions down, and their contradictory personalities allow for a dynamic that changes with awkward and sometimes unsettling compulsion. One of the strengths of Robert Funke and Matt Lutsky’s series is its regard for surrealist-tinged encounters: Cody’s sparring with an advocate of a different sales system in the second episode could be an experimental theatre excerpt.

Dunst’s performance picks up where she left off in season two of Netflix’s Fargo [full review here], with a take charge energy and practical motivation that pushes the plot forward as well as adding layers to her character’s personality. Ethics are second to paying the bills, but the narrative never writes Krystal off as white trash (despite her baby daughter being named Destinee) or looks down on the Florida milieu. Instead the Stubbs have giving – and perhaps vulnerable – neighbours in the form of Krystal’s co-worker Ernie Gomes (Mel Rodriguez) and his wife, Bets (Beth Ditto). But in this world money – or the lack of it – is always the most powerful weapon, which is why the season’s crux is just how far Krystal will go when she realises she can actually make FAM work for her.

Poetry in Motion: Hailee Steinfeld (Emily Dickinson) in Dickinson

DICKINSON S1 (Apple TV+, all 10 episodes now streaming): Emily Dickinson scholars should not watch this wild frontal assault on the 19th century American poet’s life story – I doubt the banger-scored twerking, modern references delivered with the teen sangfroid of Clueless, gothic fantasies, and petticoat-shredding queer pleasure are 100% historically accurate. Everyone else, however, should sample this delirious series, which navigates tonal shifts with dismissive ease as Emily (a terrific Hailee Steinfeld) tries to make sense of both her stultifying life in 1850s Massachusetts and hidden talents. Alena Smith’s series is the unexpected surprise of Apple TV+’s launch, confidently using extremes to outline the restraints that young women must rebel against. Emily’s household – primed for comedy by 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski playing her mother – is full of mischief, especially when her best friend, Sue (Ella Hunt), is pursued by both Emily and her fatuous brother, Austin (Adrian Enscoe). It’s a coming of age story without too many lessons, and as enjoyable as the already renewed for a second season show is it’s definitely not a satire. There’s an earnest streak that only adds to Dickinson’s subversive charm.

>> Further Reading: While I’ve been reviewing Apple TV+’s debut shows here, for The Age I wrote about what the tech giant wants to do with your television. In short: they’re looking to be your screen gatekeeper [full review here].

NEWLY ADDED MOVIES

New on Netflix: Austere in its co-opting of haute couture and obsession, if a touch too enigmatic, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread (2017, 130 minutes) gave Daniel Day-Lewis a definitive final role as an imperious 1950s London designer; Blockers (2018, 101 minutes) is both funnier and more thoughtful than its Hollywood studio concept of three parents – Leslie Mann, John Cena, and Ike Barinholtz – trying to stop their teenage daughters losing their virginity on prom night.

New on SBS on Demand: Prior to Dallas Buyers Club and Big Little Lies, director Jean-Marc Vallee made Café de Flore (2011, 120 minutes), a spiritual mystery that weaves together eras and longing; The Duellists (1977, 96 minutes) was Ridley Scott’s under-appreciated debut, a Napoleonic-era study of the rivalry between two French officers (Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine) told with painterly compositions and cool appraisal.

New on Stan: A coruscating descent into moral bankruptcy and self-loathing, Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant (1992, 97 minutes) follows Harvey Keitel’s corrupt New York police detective through a graphically depicted bottoming out; Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001, 101 minutes) is your bad – and in this case enjoyably so – weekend movie with Angelina Jolie as the gun-toting video game adventurer.

>> Want BINGE-R sent to your inbox? Click here for the weekly e-mail.

>> Check the complete BINGE-R archive: 202 series reviewed here, 131 movies reviewed here, and 30 lists compiled here.