‘It is so obsessed with its own concept, it distracts from any lesson there is to be learnt from the experience.’

*Warning: mild spoilers ahead*

I am not regularly one to indulge in the hype surrounding films, as those most hyped are usually disappointing. Often, the obsession of these films focuses on one element that seemingly blows everyone’s mind, but overshadows the film so much fans don’t seem to notice that it may be lacking in quality. I find this to be true of the latest Black Mirror episode; Bandersnatch. The hype surrounding this film was so large I had to go against my usual instincts and try it out for myself, but this film’s revolutionary concept could not pull the wool over my eyes.

Bandersnatch is presented as an 80’s style interactive video game, in which the viewer can decide the fate of the main character. Every ten minutes or so you are presented with two options to choose from that will decide the direction of the plot. The story itself, is about a young computer programmer, Stefan Butler played by Fionn Whitehead. Whitehead had proved himself to me in Dunkirk, and his performance in this was equally respectable. We follow his character as he develops a video game that, of course, follows the same concept, where the player is presented with two choices to further the story. Whitehead’s performance was compelling and stood out among the others. He is accompanied by Will Poulter, who’s performance felt a little dry compared to his other works, Asim Chaudry, Craig Parkinson and Alice Lowe.

Priding itself on its revolutionary new direction for film, ironically, this is no new technology. What could have been a good idea and an engaging new model, was executed very poorly. There is a fundamental floor in this film, that it is so obsessed with its own concept, it distracts from any lesson there is to be learnt from the experience. There are a few pitfalls that made me constantly aware of what I was engaging with and I found it hard to get lost in, simply because this film is being so obvious in its attempt to be ground-breaking.

I repeatedly found myself being presented with two options that were obviously the same and would not result in different storylines. For example, ‘Tell him more’ and ‘Try to explain’, or ‘Yes’ and ‘Fuck yeah’ are clearly the same option presented in two different ways. Maybe this would not have been so obvious if I hadn’t already been looped back to the beginning of the story at least three times so that the film could force me to move it in a specific direction, and not one that I would have naturally chosen.

In reality we don’t have any choice at all. It tricks us into thinking we decide the fate of this film, but it soon becomes clear that this is not the case. As the story develops, our main character falls deeper down an abyss of madness and the events become weirder and weirder. We learn more about the fictional novelist Jerome F. Davies, who’s book Bandersnatch, inspires Butler to programme the game this film evolves around. The novelist is driven mad with the concept that he has no control over his fate, and after we are repeatedly presented with options for Butler, he too is driven mad as he begins to realise, he is not in control. As the film loops and loops to direct you to a specific ending, or perhaps the same, you realise that actually you have no control over this film. Is that the point? Does it trick us into thinking we have control when really, we don’t?

I don’t think so. I think this film is an arrogant attempt to intricately explain or challenge free will, that we are all puppets in society being controlled by some exterior force and puts the viewer in control to con them into accommodating this concept. It is farcical and floored by the genius of its own concept. The repetition of story lines and the lack of free choice is tiresome and draws away from the story. The film is so aware of itself, and so obvious, everyone is so wrapped up in the concept of being in control of the story and making choices for the character, it completely distracts from the message it is trying to convey. After a couple of hours of looping back to be presented with new choices, that never really presented new endings, I became increasingly bored and gave up on it. Much like you would with a broken game.