Summary

• The Curse is unlike anything seen on television before, according to Christopher Nolan.
• Emma Stone's performance in The Curse is amazing and lacks vanity, drawing viewers in, per Nolan.
• The Curse breaks expectations, delivering a unique and potentially long-lasting experience.

Christopher Nolan shares massive praise for The Curse, a satire show led by Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder. Consisting of ten episodes, and debuting on Showtime this past November, The Curse is created by Fielder, known for Nathan For You and HBO's The Rehearsal, and Uncut Gems co-director Benny Safdie. The story focuses on how an alleged curse upends the relationship of married couple, Asher (Fielder) and Whitney (Stone), as they try to launch an HGTV reality series centered on philanthropy and environmental housing.

Showtime shared a Q&A, moderated by Nolan, in which the Oppenheimer and Tenet director praised their work on the genre-mashing comedy.

Nolan says, at one point: “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen on television before.” Underlining how there are few groundbreaking shows like The Curse, Nolan compares it to seminal series like Twin Peaks. The multi-time Oscar nominee also praises Stone, an executive producer on the show, for her acting and the lack of vanity in her portrayal. His comments are below:

It’s an incredible show, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen on television before. There are so few shows that come along that have genuinely no precedence. You’re going back to things like ‘Twin Peaks,’ or ‘The Prisoner,’ or Dennis Potter’s ‘Singing Detective’ and things like that, so you’re in an amazing space, and I can’t wait to catch up with the climax.

[I] want to talk about Emma Stone. And Whitney, because it’s—she’s absolutely, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say, as the series develops, she can be pretty maddening at times, in a very credible way. The performance I think, is absolutely amazing and wonderful. She’s totally in it. And there is an absolute lack of, I mean, for a star to play a part with an absolute lack of vanity, and no apander to the audience. No appealing to the audience.

Nolan Is Right About The Curse

The Curse could have been exactly what its general premise suggested: a privileged supposedly well-meaning couple revealing themselves to be hypocrites, again and again, while their life spirals out of control because of the titular curse. While the Showtime series does contain elements of that, especially in its early episodes, Safdie, Fielder, and Stone have much higher aims for their satire that results in the truly singular experience that Nolan describes.

Asher and Whitney are terrible and deluded, but the story doesn't repeat the point over and over again. It pulls back, enough that viewers can start to feel some sense of investment and empathy for the duo, and then The Curse leans back with mortifying cringe comedy that's almost impossible to look away from. The show also manages to turn on the drama at a moment's notice, leading to an unforgettable performance from Stone and a riveting turn from Fielder, who is known more for his inventive comedy and writing than as a dramatic actor.

That unsteady fluctuation reaches its peak in The Curse's ending, which baffled some viewers and even veteran critics. At a time when even the best shows, whether it's Succession or The Bear, tend to be recognized for certain structures and thematic interests, Fielder, Stone, and Safdie smash all expectations and deliver something that may well be discussed for years to come. Although it flew relatively under the radar, Nolan's endorsement and others like it point to the show's lasting legacy.

The Curse streams on Paramount+ with Showtime.

Source: Showtime