Genre: Thriller
Runtime: 40-150 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Craig Parkinson, Alice Lowe, Asim Chaudry, Will Poulter
Description: In 1984, a young programmer begins to question reality as he works to adapt a fantasy novel into a video game.
Review: Netflix approached Charlie Brooker, the writer of the dark dystopian anthology series “Black Mirror”, with the question if he could develop an interactive adventure and make it a part of “Black Mirror” season 5. At first, he declined. It would be too complex and probably not interesting. Until Brooker started writing season 5 and he realized it would work. And since December 2018 you can stream the first interactive film on Netflix.
In “Bandersnatch”, that is set in the 80s, we follow Stefan Butler. He works from home, where he lives with his father. He is trying to create a video game based on the book Bandersnatch. And this is a book where you can choose your own story, just like the concept of this film. Its writer completely lost it and eventually murdered his wife and ended up in jail. For Stefan the content of the book is perfecet for a video game and he sells it to a gaming company, where his hero Colin Ritman works. Filled with excitement Stefan starts with the development, but it’s not easy. Especially if you, the viewer, make the wrong choices. Making choices is a big part of the film. The film revolves around free will, if we have it or not. As a viewer, you get to make some choices for Stefan. It starts with minor choices, like what cereal to eat for breakfast and what music to listen to on the bus. But as the film progresses, the choices become more difficult.
Each choice has impact on the story and leads the film to different endings. There are five. And because of all those different choices you can make, there are many ways to get to these endings. And this also makes for the fact that not everyone gets the same runtime. The shortest route takes 40 minutes, but overall it’s about 90 minutes long. There is even a 150 minute option. Everything depends on your decisions and the question you ask yourself is if these choices really had an impact. Sometimes you make a wrong choice and you go back. And sometimes it feels like both options aren’t the right one.
“Bandersnatch” is a very interesting and a unique concept. Because of the interactive aspect, this film feels like no other. But at the end, you kind of lose interest, because you have to go back again, because you made one minor choice that wasn’t the best option.
I hope Netflix brings us another film like this, because it was a lot of fun and a great modern movie experience.
Rating: 4/ 5
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