Stranger Things (2016)

(Warning: There are some minor spoilers in this post. Read at your own risk.)

I usually avoid writing about current popular culture, because there is so very little that can be added to the conversation. The Netflix series Stranger Things has become such a massive success that already fan theories and fiction have sprouted up all over the internet. It has been the subject of many entertainment websites, and social media, that there is little more that can be said. However, I immensely enjoyed the series to the point that I feel compelled to write about it. It’s a show that manages to stick with you after having watched it and leaves you wanting more.   Stranger Things is essentially the Duffer Brothers tribute to the early works of Steven Spielberg and Stephen King (with a few other references thrown in). It perfectly captures the look and feel of the early 80s. However, this is not the historic 1980s as we know it, but rather the cinematic 1980s that was prevalent in movies like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and The Goonies.  The children communicate via walkie-talkies and ride their bicycles across town, while their parents remain oblivious to the chaos engulfing the neighborhood.  If this series was set in modern times, the children would constantly be bombarded with text messages from their parents. Also, the boys wouldn’t have to go the science teacher, Mr. Clarke, for information about alternate dimensions; they could just look it up on Google. 

However, nostalgia is not enough to explain how Stranger Things has resonated with audiences of different ages. A person in my age group might view  it through a nostalgic lens, but that is certainly not the case with any one under the age of thirty. Plus, there have been many 80s nostalgic pieces in the last decade, but most of them have been quickly forgotten. They certainly didn’t inspire any fan fiction. Stranger Things is the best type of homage – it pays tribute to movies of the 1980s, while still functioning as its own story. You don’t need to be familiar with the early movies to understand what is happening in the show.  The references help enhance the story, as opposed to the other way around. 

It is also a positive sign when the least interesting aspect of the TV show is the monster.  The characters in Stranger Things are so compelling  that at times you wish the damn monster would stop getting in the way. The Duffer Brothers maybe Spielberg imitators, but they make for some excellent students. Like Spielberg, they understand the importance of likable characters. The majority of Spielberg imitators (i.e. Roland Emmerich) often get so hung up on the special effects that they completely ignore the human element. Their focus is entirely on the action set pieces that their characters tend to be on the cartoonish side (see Emmerich’s 1998 Godzilla. On second thought, don’t). 

The best thing about Stranger Things is the naturalistic performances by its child actors.  They are not one dimensional catchphrase generating machines designed to elicit “AWWWWS” from the audience; they look and act like genuine 1980s children. It’s great to see Winona Ryder in a starring role again and David Harbour is terrific as the flawed, but determined police chief, but it’s the children that steal the show.  Millie Bobby Brown has been singled out for her performance as Eleven (justifiably so, as she is terrific), but Finn Wolfhard is equally good as Mike. I could probably write an entire novel about Stranger Things, and maybe I’ll return to it in a future entry, but for now I would like to focus on the relationship between Mike and Eleven as it is the heart and soul of the show.

Mike is descended from such child protagonists like Elliott from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Mikey from The Goonies, Sean from Fred Dekker’s The Monster Squad,  and Sam Weir from the TV show Freaks and Geeks – he is a socially inept nerd that has very little contact with girls, a small circle of male friends, and is defined by his loyalty. He also possesses a keen intellect and is open minded towards outsiders. This last point is important, because if Dustin and Lucas had their way, Eleven would have been immediately turned into the authorities. Mike, even though he doesn’t know her, is willing to give her shelter for the night and protect her from the “bad people.” It also speaks volumes about Mike that even at the lowest point in their relationship (he believed that she lied to him about Will) he is still willing to shelter her in the basement and refrains from telling his parents about her.  He doesn’t have a vindictive bone in his body. 

The character of Eleven has two cinematic influences: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial  and Charlene “Charlie” McGee from Stephen King’s Firestarter. There is a crucial difference between Charlie and Eleven;  Charlie was raised by her parents, who helped keep her powers in check, and has actual interactions with the outside world.  Eleven, on the other hand, has spent her entire life as a test subject in a science laboratory.  She has never had any meaningful interactions with people.  She is an even bigger introvert than Mike, albeit unintentionally.  After she escapes from the lab, she devolves into a feral state – she can barely speak and is forced to scavenge whatever food she can find. Yet, despite her fragile appearance, Eleven is the most powerful character in the entire series – she has telekinetic powers and can break necks with just a simple snap of her head. There has been some criticism over the body count that Eleven racks up throughout the course of the series, however, it is important to note that Eleven only kills people when she and, more importantly, her friends are being threatened.  You would be wise to tread lightly around this girl, or she will make you pay.

I said that Millie Bobby Brown was "terrific,” but that is an understatement – she is absolutely phenomenal.  In lesser hands,  Eleven could have been an absolute disaster; a typical child actress would have Eleven bugging out her eyes and waving her hands around in a spastic manner every time she uses her powers. Or, the filmmakers might resort to a lot of cinematic trickery to cover up the limitations of their child star; in Firestarter whenever Charlie (Drew Barrymore) uses her powers the camera will zoom in on her face and her hair will start to flutter (it looks like she's standing in front of a fan), and then, just to clue in the audience that things are about to get REALLY serious, we are bombarded with rapid close ups of Charlie's eyes and whatever person/object she is unleashing her wrath on. There are also a lot of impressive pyrotechnics on display.   The Duffer brothers (and Shawn Levy) never resort to this and allow for Brown’s performance to speak for itself.  Their direction is far more restrained than Mark L. Lester's was for Firestarter; the moment when Eleven makes Troy, the school bully, piss his pants is a great example of this. Mike is standing on the right front of the frame, in a close up, while Eleven is stationed in the center of the frame, out of focus, in the background. While everyone laughs at Troy’s “accident,” Eleven remains perfectly still the entire time.  She is the only still person in the frame and our eyes immediately are drawn towards her. We don’t need zoom in or rapid close ups of Eleven’s eyes to help connect the dots; her body language tells us all we need to know.

The most impressive aspect of Brown's performance is how she's able to communicate so much by doing so very little; she's able to say more with just the slightest tilt of her head than most actresses are with pages of dialogue. It's also a nice touch on Brown's  part that Mike, with the exception of  Benny, is the only character Eleven smiles at throughout the entire series. In episode four, the kids are at a school assembly and Dustin smiles at Eleven, but it doesn't even register with her; she wears a somber face. Later in that scene, after Eleven makes Troy piss his pants, Mike looks back at her and she flashes him a smile.  There are actors that are only as good as the material they are given and then there are the special kind that can transcend the material and take it to a higher level; Brown falls in the latter category.  On paper, there really isn't much to the character of Eleven and, yet, Brown is able to inject so much life into Eleven that she completely outshines her co-stars.

I’m going to go all pretentious college professor by suggesting that Stranger Things is largely about the battle for Eleven’s soul between Dr. Brenner and Mike. This is reiterated in the fact that Brenner and Mike are the two most influence people in her life. They are the only two characters that can actually carry on a conversation with Eleven.   Dr. Brenner is the closest thing to a father figure Eleven has (she calls him “Papa”), but he is very clinical in his treatment of her and is only interested in her powers.  Mike, on the other hand, is a far more compassionate and emotional person; instead of coldly referring to her as a number, he gives her the nickname of “Elle.” Mike is Elle’s moral compass. Again, she has spent her entire life locked up in a science laboratory and  has been raised to be a weapon; the concepts or right and wrong are foreign to her.  Mike’s biggest contribution is that he instills a simple code into Elle, “Friends always tell the truth/Friends don't lie.”  This is a phrase that Elle will repeat back to Mike multiple times throughout the series.  The writers do a great job of visually linking Mike and Eleven; in episode three he gives her a watch to help keep track of the time, and she wears it until episode seven when she gives it back to Mike for safe keeping before she goes into "the bath."

It is also important to note that Mike leads by example. The ending of episode six (where Elle saves Mike though levitation) is probably the highlight of the series, because we get to see Elle in full bad ass mood, but it also overwhelms this very simple fact: Mike is willing to risk his life to save his friend Dustin.  The school bully, Troy, has Dustin in a grip and threatens to cut out his teeth with a switchblade if Mike doesn’t jump off a ledge hanging over the lake. This is a deadly jump and most likely will kill Mike, but he goes through with any ways because it will save a friend. Luckily for Mike, Elle happens to arrive just in time to save him.  Self sacrifice isn’t a phrase you will find in Dr. Brenner’s vocabulary, but it is very much ingrained into Mike. It's not surprising then that Eleven openly rejects her amoral "Papa" at the end, especially after having experienced genuine love from Mike. 

I mentioned before that the word “terrific” doesn’t do justice to Millie Bobby Brown’s performance, well that also applies to Finn Wolfhard's portrayal of Mike. He is also a phenomenal performer that is able to take a basic archetype (the gawky nerd) and transform it into a fairly complex character. It also helps great that Millie Bobby Brown and him have great onscreen chemistry; it isn't surprising that multiple Mike/Eleven video tributes have popped up all over Youtube. The latter part is important; individually the two of them could give great performances, but if there is zero chemistry between the two of them the entire show falls apart.

There are two scenes that highlight just how good Wolfhard is:

1) In episode four, after the boys have given Elle a makeover to make her more “girlish” (they put her in a blonde wig and have her wear a dress), Mike is completely taken aback and comments, “Pretty!” He then tries to cover it up by adding, “Good!”  What I love about Wolfhard’s performance is that you can see the light bulb go off his head when he first lays eyes on the “new” Elle – he has officially discovered girls. I also love the little smirk that comes across Elle’s face after hearing Mike’s compliment

2) In episode eight, Mike attempts to explain his true feelings to Elle and, after words have failed him, gives her a quick kiss on the lips.  The sincerity of the performance helps this scene out immensely; I like how frustrated Mike gets at his inability to explain the concept of a girlfriend to Elle. He stumbles over his words and is almost ready to drop it until Elle throws the phrase “Friends never lie”  at him. After even more stumbling, he just goes for broke and kisses her on the lips.  Elle's reaction is priceless: she takes a deep breath and then smiles. It is a sweet moment that is underlined by tragedy; this is the happiest moment in Elle’s life, but it is incredibly short lived. 

I cannot stress enough how good Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown are in the scene (and the entire series), they completely sell it. It is the kind of scene that in the hands of lesser actors could either be extremely laughable or painful. In the hands of Wolfhard and Brown it is a genuinely moving scene.  It’s enough to reduce even  the meanest old man into a whimpering mass of tears. 

Credits:

Cast: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Chief Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner),  Joe Keery (Steven Harrington), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Randall B. Havens (Mr. Clarke), Rob Morgan (Officer Powell),  John Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Mark Steger (The Monster), Peyton Wich (Troy), Cade Jones (James), Sharon Purser (Barbara), Catherine Dyer (Agent Connie Frazier), Chester Rushing (Tommy H), Chelsea Talmadge (Carol), Ross Partridge (Lonnie Byers).

Creators: The Duffer Brothers
Directors: Matt & Ross Duffer, Shawn Levy (episodes 3 & 4).
Writers: The Duffer Brothers, Justin Doble, Paul Dichter, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson – Lopez, Alison Tatlock.
Running Time: 42 – 55 minutes (8 episodes).