Westworld (2016) – A review

In the near future a (mainly adult) theme park called Westworld opens its doors. Here you can play cowboys and Indians to your heart’s content. Moreover you can rape, pillage and murder if you feel like it. There are no rules and no boundaries. Except for the victims of these crimes: the robots that get murdered by paying guests on a daily basis. These ‘hosts’ will forever remain in their narrative loop. That is, until one day, some start to awaken.

Well, that didn't take long!

I mean, I've seen my share of television shows. And I've pretty much reached the conclusion that I cannot watch them all. But luckily for me my schedule cleared up (after Person of interest ended -Another Jonathan Nolan show) so I decided to give Westworld a chance.

I've seen the original movie years before and even though I liked the sci-fi aspect about questionable reality in it I still had to conclude that it was too much of a western for my taste and I don’t really like classic westerns that much.

So Westworld could go both ways with me. If it focused too much on the West storyline I would have quit. Luckily the show gives equal focus to the 'man upstairs'. Which is the story strand I found far more interesting.

This was my mindset going in. And, to repeat myself...’well that didn't take long’. After the first little twist (you'll know the one) I was intrigued. After episode ten I had about fifteen pages worth of notes.

How to tackle this review?

There is, of course, a lot to talk about.  Like HBO’s hit show Game of Thrones there are characters to explore, types of magic to categorize. Even comparisons to be made with the source material. But Westworld has something Game of Thrones doesn’t have; due to the core story concerning ‘robotic life and reality’ amongst other things it can ask rather philosophical questions.

In that sense, in all honesty, Game of Thrones is basically a battle for a throne.

There’s no debate going on whether or not the iron throne dreams of electric sheep.

But then there’s also another story. Stripping Westworld down to its barest A to B narrative it’s nothing more than a theme park gone rogue (like Crichton's later story: Jurassic Park). This brings another set of questions to the table, practical ones like: how big the park is, how many employee’s it has?

And then, of course there is the third set of questions: what to make of it all? This is where you enter discussion and, most of all, spoiler territory. So this paragraph is going to be barred from the rest of the article. By a handy spoiler tag.

Before I enter the standardized parts of the review about directing, acting, general tone and –of course- story I wish to tackle these three categories in a (how appropriate) bullet point fashion.

So practical, philosophical and the dark territory.

Practical.

Making money
Like the Truman show before (another Ed Harris highlight): How much would such a park cost to operate? At one point it's mentioned that there are about 1400 guests per go in the park. It is also mentioned that it is a highly expensive entrance price (40.000 per day). So a quick calculation would be approximately (1400X40000=) 56 million per day. And the park's been running for -at least- well over 30 years.

In the past every scientific breakthrough happened through war - In Westworld they propose the theory that  in the near future it is entertainment and themeparks.

There are shareholders behind the scenes who, in classic Hollywood fiction, are all about profit. So they are (for instance) too cheapskate to fix the leaking pluming in the storage at basement level 82. This tells us that there are  possible money issues (possibly caused by greed) going on.

But then how many employees does Westworld truly need? There’s a daily dose of broken glass, bloodied floors, bed sheets that need changing. Not to mention the logistical nightmare of hauling the hosts back and forth and dressing and undressing them.

I don't want to be the guy cleaning out the drinks and food from the hosts.

And it might be interesting to note that there is somewhat of a want for employees willing to test the ‘working girls’ (Is that rape?).

Westworld would need well over a thousand employees at least to keep the park running (that would still only be about 3 million in wages mind you).  That with promotional, industrial and taxes maybe the net profit is about 20 million a day. Still not a bad score I would say. But to return to the shareholders: how can costs be reduced?

I mean, though I enjoyed the critique on corporate - hierarchy of it all (let the other departments deal with it), wouldn’t it be far more cost efficient if the lab-workers were hosts as well?

At one moment during the show you see several hosts working as those old’ time pictures of slaves on cotton farms. But that was inside the park. There’s no reason to believe that the same slavery-aspect can’t be used for the employees hauling and fixing broken hosts.

Maybe not on the security detail mind you. There’d be a lot of companies who’d want to steal the intellectual properties.

Talking about the hosts. There are basically two types:

the mechanical old models and the biomechanical newer models.

Both are programmed, pretty much, the same way.

They don’t see what they aren’t allowed to see.

But they do remember faces somewhat (a handy trade if you are a ‘working girl’ – repeat customers).

Doesn’t this conflict?

Controlling it all
Then, talking about logistics, Westworld is a gigantic place to maintain. True most of the hosts will probably maintain their own houses and living space. But there’s far more to Westworld than beats the eye. Outside of the centre it gets more grandiose. Less visitors more fun to be had.

The red rock base, for instance, has at least 82 sub-terrain levels. Moreover, there’s a whole subway system going on underground allowing personnel to travel from place to place around the map.

So what about cheating? Is it possible for a guest to dive down a tunnel, take the subway to the next location and kill the bad guy the quest demanded?

This is a necessity to keep the park safe. Because somehow, somewhere it was decided to make Westworld a bloody (literally) dangerous world.

So bullets hurt the guest. Hosts can punch and even (superficially) cut a guest. But axe-wielders and pyrotechnical effects need special clearance. But then; what about arrows?

According to the fake Westworld website people do die in Westworld – when entering you are on your own.

 what about the not suing America – this must be the future.

How safe can this narrative really be? With knives flying around and broken bottles? What if a guest falls from the stairs: does the narrative villain host break character and catch him?

Also...really, take kids there?

That whole scene with a family riding into town so let's cut the bloodbath short was rather hilarious and strange at the same time.

Also, If you are going to get married you don't let your fiancé dillydally around in Westworld where there are  no rules.

But then what happens if guests turn on each other? Will security kick in? Will hosts intervene?
It is mentioned that the hosts do most of the surveys of the park. So it’s a small step to assume that in such an event it are the hosts that will intervene when to guests turn on each other.

By the way; how do you tell a guest when the time is up?

In short: there are a lot of practical questions to keep you occupied.

BTW That was one very cool video erase tool. But what use would it serve in the real world except for criminals and cheating spouses?

Philosophical

Videogames
If there is one philosophical theme that makes a series like Westworld right for our time it's videogames. Each and  every question we, in the last twenty years or so, have asked about videogames resurfaces in Westworld. For instance the violence.

Seeing somebody's face blown off in the pilot episode was a clear indication that I was watching cable.

For years people have kept on arguing on the question if videogames make players violent. And, to be honest, videogames have gleefully pushed back. Videogames force you to play as a terrorist killing innocents. Videogames force you to torture a victim if you want to proceed to the next level.

It’s a play on the ‘inflicting violence’-part of us humans that makes this debate so interesting. Each time video game animation improves the same questions are asked again and again.

Now put that discussion in the metaphorical freezer and skip to the end and actually hand a person a gun and let him, without consequence, kill somebody who is (almost) exactly like you.

The question now becomes that what people fear: ‘can you come back from that’?

If I go around killing and raping in this fantasy world. Can I readjust to the real world when I tasted that (for want of a better word) ‘freedom’? When is 'close enough to realism'; real enough for my mind to change?

In this sense Westworld asks the same question as the Purge does: if a person has tasted wickedness can he still be normal?

But there’s more: If it looks real enough would you, or could you, befriend or fall in love with something that isn't real? (what is love and friendship apart from a chemical procedure in our brain).

Really HBO? Copulating robot-thingies in the opening titles. Really?

I remember being heartbroken by Aerith’s death (let’s not overdo it, but it did hurt) and she was a terribly polygoned character. What if Aerith was (somewhat) flesh and blood?

Then there are the obvious references to MMORPG's.
There are tons of hosts offering possible side-quests. The fact that newcomers -Much like a MMORPG- immediately start killing the most dangerous looking bloke around (like trying to take on the Level 65 castle guard).

Poor bloke, he never caught a break those first few episodes.

Or the fact that the guests are a bit like players with the Godmode-cheat enabled.

As I'm writing this bit I've only seen the first two episodes. But, based on the Yule Brinner movie I'm guessing that the man in black is a bit like a gamecharacter with the godmode cheat enabled (like that annoying bug in the PC version of Silent Hill Homecoming that didn't allow you to kill the boss).

Then there are the easter eggs or special missions. Or that one friend who introduces the character William to Westworld. We've all had that friend who played the game before and jankes the controller out of your hand when he noticed you trying things out. He's that person.

Only here he stabs a man to prove his superiority in playing the game.

To end this computer segment there is this lovely distinction between a virus and a trojan/worm or adware. With our current virusscanners we hardly know the difference anymore. But, I, like the other poor souls who were around in the early days of the internet, certainly remember.

A trojan is a planted virus to accomplice something on a computer. The virus-element makes it spread. This is exactly what is happening to the various hosts.

Reality, mortality: existence.
Then of course there are the (obvious) philosophical questions that deal with mortality and existence.

Playing god, for instance, is something that comes by quite often when Anthony Hopkins’s character appears (and who is quite willing to admit to his God complex).  He travels his world as an all-seeing/all-knowing storyteller. Like J.K. Roweling knowing exactly what kind of candy Honeyduke’s has in store.

That, combined, with his power that he can force his will upon the hosts with a simple change of voice makes him a God amongst his toys.

And we all know that ‘being God’ tends to make us mortal men go a little mad at times. Especially when you keep ‘the fanfiction curse’ in mind: if you got what you want you get confused because there aren’t any goals left to reach (the Greyhound story).

Learning and being
Then there’s rehabilitation. The Dolores's father-character, for instance, being an evil priest turned cannibal a few years back before being reprogrammed into a retired sheriff.

Hosts can’t learn from their memories so they have to be reprogrammed. But Westworld asks this question later on: (paraphrasing) ‘Dying a million times, it gets easier’. Or: ‘Out of repetition comes variation’.

This is amplified by the theme of dreams and hypnosis that runs throughout the series. And what are dreams apart from our mind storing and making sense of our memories? Something the hosts are denied.

Moreover the hypnotic state the hosts are in when talking to their ‘Gods’  are eerily similar to a hypnotist/puppet-master telling somebody to forget everything they just did and: ‘wake up completely refreshed.'

And that’s the core question in Westworld: if you lack the capacity to learn from your past are you still forced to repeat each and every single step.

Reality for the hosts, in Westworld, is that what is offered to you and it’s turned upside down. Age, for instance: the youngest host happens to be the oldest one around.

But then there are the guest to consider. They do remember. They are human.

As a character states halfway through the season: ‘This place doesn't pander to your deeper self, it shows you who you really are’.

Though there is still an element of choice to be taking into account. For instance, a person being the ‘ good guy’ for many runs might, one day, decide to try out being evil for laughs (much like the aforementioned sheriff/cannibal).

But then, how evil can a person be? Can you still live with yourself in the real world? What if -what you did leaks to the real world? How will the world react?

In this sense: what makes a hero and what makes a villain? Take Noah for instance. For a religious person he's a hero. For an atheist he's a villain.

Without spoiling the ending too much it are the guests who prefer the fictional world over the real world and the hosts wanting it the other way around.

Dark territory (Spoilers)

So now we enter dark territory. This whole bit is spoiling. I’m going to mention the things I liked and disliked.

For starters; It took me a while to come to terms with Ed Harris not being a robot. Even him being recognized I still managed to deny it. Still his quest for realism in a made up world makes him one of the more interesting characters around.

I think it’s an ‘unwritten’ theme that the center of the maze means that a host is alive.

Nudity
What I especially liked is how Westworld managed to make nudity a part of the story.

HBO is well known for showing a body part or two and even though Westworld is very toned down on that department it is still very obvious which actress had a non-nudity clause in her contract and not.

But the fun part here is the fact that clothed or unclothed was a massive clue to the identity of Arnold. Those who talk to the hosts unclothed think of them like dolls. Whereas those who keep  them clothed see something more.

This gave away Arnold to some – I however took it as a sneaky scene between the two (due to the cellar background)–no time to undress the girl.

Then there is the strange way Maeve grasps the new ‘real’ world. She’s rather (too) quick on the uptake. But then again the 'brains' of the host are far bigger than the humans.

But I loved her bit as a host controlling hosts.

I do think, however, that those two undertakers should have retired her ages ago. She's dangerous goods.

Bodycount
For all the bloodshed this is a show with a tremendously low body count (in the first seven or so episodes at least – in the end it goes all out).

I loved the inclusion of an 'East world' by the way. That way I can keep my hopes up for a 'North world': conquering  the fjords riding a polar bear.

At least (I would hope) an answer about the fate of the main guard and the scientist should come in the future. If a person dies off  screen there is always the possibility they'd return.

Twists and turns
Then there are the twists. There are several of them: the finale (Dolores going gun crazy), ‘Who’s Arnold?’ and, of course, Bernard’s real identity.

I can tell you that I fell for each and every one of them.

However, I  did see all these twists coming early on. But, as the show progressed I dismissed them (I kept hanging on to my: ‘man in black is a host’-theory).  For instance this one little note I made for myself around episode four:

“Cause and effect - I like the idea of the real threat being started in the third or fourth episode rather small in an uninteresting manner. So that later you realize how important that scene was.”

That’s basically the Arnold and Delores-scenes. So I did notice that there was something brewing – but in the end I was still wrong.

The (actual) review.

It's very difficult to stay spoiler free in our current digital age. Two hours is often enough for the people online to spill the beans. Luckily for me I managed to avoid many of them.

I always find it amusing that the final twist of Jurassic World was spoiled to me (In CAPS no less) on the same day as the world premiere of the movie. Yet, at the same time I still don’t know who killed Laura Palmer.

Contemporary popularity apparently dictates internet-people spilling the beans. That’s why a lot of people are still careful discussing the famous M. Night Shyamalan twists (apart from the Happening because -’screw that movie!’).

What you can certainly take from the bits written in the previous paragraphs is that Westworld is a TV-series that puts your mind at work with popular theoretical notions of philosophy, future and mystery. I’ve written all my musing above, I’m not going to repeat them here.

Here I wish to focus on the pillars of the TV-show: the script, the style (directing and cinematography) and the acting. And I can spoil you already: it’s A+ across the board.

THE SCRIPT
The script, obviously, is exemplary. I’ve already written six pages worth of musings just based on the story. True, on the tricky slippery slope of humans versus cyborgs there is always the question whether or not a cyborg would do the things they do. But overall I rest myself in the knowledge that this TV-show offers a lot of nice philosophical concepts to counter that strain of thought.

I loved the fact that the character in charge of 'narrative' was called: Sizemore.

THE ACTING
"Your humanity is cost effective."

Anthony Hopkins is being tremendously creepy at times (his Breaking Bad-letter [google it] is, to me, the core of this turnaround to the small screen. He now sees TV as the next place for his skill set and he is right -better than his latest movies). He knows that it is television-today that allows him to play interesting parts.

The rest of the cast also got this notion. Each and every one of them play their particular character to a key.

I must admit that I didn't really warm up to the Doloris parts. But that’s because of the western bit of it.

Westworld is a show that allows characters/hosts  to re-appear as different characters. It’s a show tailor made for actors. You can be ‘goody two-shoes’ in one scene and shooting your creator in the next.

DIRECTING
"the longer I work here the more I start to understand the hosts -the human beings confuse me."

Can we please have titles on screen for episodes again. I’m having a hard time remembering episodes.

The directing then is going out all HBO. As I mentioned before, in the first episode the viewer is on the receiving end of a head-shot. Then there’s the obligatory nudity.

I like how the show treated nudity as part of the story. True there's still the occasional orgy scene (it's HBO after all). But still nudity is, overall, treated in a far more natural way than shows like Carnivale or Boardwalk empire.  One actress actually plays an entire episode in the buff and you hardly notice it. It's a bit like  nudists I guess.  Yes it may be exiting for a minute or two but after that you'll be playing badminton. (Though I do have a fear for nudist barbeque's)

But, apart from that there is this constant drive to take things further. It’s a way this show is directed/editied. Each episode shows a new piece of the land (Westworld) to explore. It keeps the audience wanting in the right way.

Then there are the little set-design tricks like putting bells on grave-markers. Or classic rock songs on that old piano (But doesn't that take the 'guests' out of the experience?).

Then, there’s always something happening in the background. Like the Walking Dead – there’s often a zombie somewhere. In Westworld there’s somebody quarreling with his wife while the protagonist is trying to attain love.

Directing-wise Westworld is using the best of both worlds. I has a great script at its basis and it goes from there. That doesn’t make it perfects as –I hope- some of my doubtful musings above made clear. But in the end it does make it all satisfactory.

In its ten episode run Westworld managed to tell a rather complex story (or, as complex stories go, a simple one made complex by manipulating the chronologic flow of the narrative) filled to the brim with semi-philosophical theses . I don't like all the choices the show made. And, in fact, the final bloodshed made me wonder quite a bit. But Westworld is a satisfactory triumph on most levels.

The post-credits scene was totally unneeded though.