Summary:
A remarkable and poignant dramedy about bonding and the world of work, created and co-written by Mike White (the head of The White Lotus) along with Laura Dern, whose display of resources makes her character Amy (a quixotic, defiant and impulsive woman who permanently tests her shaky status quo in pursuit of what she considers to be better and better that surrounds her) perhaps the richest of her career.
Review:
Amy, a sales executive (Laura Dern) has an incident with her boss and decides to spend time in a treatment center in Hawaii. She returns from there totally renewed and determined to redefine her ties to her work environment, her mother Helen (Diane Ladd, her mother in real life) and her ex-husband Levi( Luke Wilson).
Few actresses can create characters as lovable and infuriating at the same time as Laura Dern's Amy. Throughout this drama, we will see her many times stumble over the same stone, fall down and always move forward in her desire to improve herself and others. Dern herself classified this series as a "character study." And indeed it is.
Amy does not have it easy: "enlightened" after her treatment, she must return to live with her distant mother, reestablish a fluctuating bond with her problematic ex-husband and must face a new and frustrating work reality in the same company where she had enjoyed a better position. The latter gives rise to a harsh, critical and even subversive look at certain very current labor practices, rarely seen in American fiction. Amy is a woman who is no longer young and who permanently and in a quixotic, defiant and impulsive way puts her shaky status quo to the test in pursuit of what she considers to be better and improve what surrounds her.
It is no coincidence that, along with Laura Dern, the creator and co-writer of this series is Mike White, the creator, screenwriter and director of the awkward White Lotus. The episodes of Enlightened sink deep into the viewer, thanks to their concise dialogues, certain details of their staging, the power of their images, their tight timing, their bursts of humor and the remarkable performances of the entire cast. A story that raises more questions than answers, permanently challenging the viewer in a totally honest way.
Several chapters include some comments of poetic tone, certainly notable and never redundant, by the voice-over of the protagonist, by way of reflections and situation pictures on the chapter. They really make you want to write them down.
The direction of the episodes is divided between Mike White himself (who also plays Amy's shy officemate), Miguel Arteta, Phil Morrison, Nicole Holofcener and... Jonathan Demme!. On the other hand, guest stars appear, like Robin Wright in a notable chapter.
And I dedicate the final words to the marvelous work of Laura Dern, with a display of resources that makes her quixotic Amy perhaps the richest character in her entire acting career, (anti) heroine of this deeply moving series.
A remarkable and poignant dramedy about bonding and the world of work, created and co-written by Mike White (the head of The White Lotus) along with Laura Dern, whose display of resources makes her character Amy (a quixotic, defiant and impulsive woman who permanently tests her shaky status quo in pursuit of what she considers to be better and better that surrounds her) perhaps the richest of her career.
Review:
Amy, a sales executive (Laura Dern) has an incident with her boss and decides to spend time in a treatment center in Hawaii. She returns from there totally renewed and determined to redefine her ties to her work environment, her mother Helen (Diane Ladd, her mother in real life) and her ex-husband Levi( Luke Wilson).
Few actresses can create characters as lovable and infuriating at the same time as Laura Dern's Amy. Throughout this drama, we will see her many times stumble over the same stone, fall down and always move forward in her desire to improve herself and others. Dern herself classified this series as a "character study." And indeed it is.
Amy does not have it easy: "enlightened" after her treatment, she must return to live with her distant mother, reestablish a fluctuating bond with her problematic ex-husband and must face a new and frustrating work reality in the same company where she had enjoyed a better position. The latter gives rise to a harsh, critical and even subversive look at certain very current labor practices, rarely seen in American fiction. Amy is a woman who is no longer young and who permanently and in a quixotic, defiant and impulsive way puts her shaky status quo to the test in pursuit of what she considers to be better and improve what surrounds her.
It is no coincidence that, along with Laura Dern, the creator and co-writer of this series is Mike White, the creator, screenwriter and director of the awkward White Lotus. The episodes of Enlightened sink deep into the viewer, thanks to their concise dialogues, certain details of their staging, the power of their images, their tight timing, their bursts of humor and the remarkable performances of the entire cast. A story that raises more questions than answers, permanently challenging the viewer in a totally honest way.
Several chapters include some comments of poetic tone, certainly notable and never redundant, by the voice-over of the protagonist, by way of reflections and situation pictures on the chapter. They really make you want to write them down.
The direction of the episodes is divided between Mike White himself (who also plays Amy's shy officemate), Miguel Arteta, Phil Morrison, Nicole Holofcener and... Jonathan Demme!. On the other hand, guest stars appear, like Robin Wright in a notable chapter.
And I dedicate the final words to the marvelous work of Laura Dern, with a display of resources that makes her quixotic Amy perhaps the richest character in her entire acting career, (anti) heroine of this deeply moving series.