'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' Captivates with the Might of Its Novelty

Bandersnatch is the “Christmas special” (technically, it’s not a Christmas special.  But it was released during the Christmas season, so…) in 2018 by the hit science fiction anthology TV series Black Mirror.  It’s an interactive film in which the plot is shaped by the choices made by the viewer for the main character.  It’s not really the first ever production to use such approach, but it’s probably the most complex and extensive at this point.  The default story path, in which the viewer just let the film play out without actively making a choice, runs for 90 minutes (standard feature runtime), but according to sources, the sum of all unique storylines amount to 312 minutes.  There are five main endings, but variations between them bring the total to around 12, according to the creators.

As already mentioned, Bandersnatch branches out to different storylines, but the main premise  centers on Stefan Butler (Fionn Whitehead), a young game programmer living in 1984 England who is obsessed of making a groundbreaking video game adaptation of a “choose your own adventure” book called Bandersnatch.  As the deadline for the game’s release inches closer, the mounting stress pushes Stefan’s fragile mental state into its breaking point, leading him to revisit the traumas of the past and to grow suspicious of the nature of the present.  Other major characters in the film are Colin Ritman (Will Poulter), a legendary video game developer whom Stefan is a fan of; Mohan Thakur (Asim Chaudhry), Stefan and Colin’s boss; Peter Butler (Craig Parkinson), Stefan’s dad; and Dr. Haynes (Alice Lowe), Stefan’s therapist.

What’s mainly fascinating about the story, regardless of what story path is taken, is Stefan eventually ending up questioning his reality or whether his free will is just an illusion.  It’s a recurring motif that ties up perfectly to its medium.  In fact (mild SPOILERS), at one point, there’s an amazing meta moment where this is directly addressed (more on this later).

And this is why, I think, Bandersnatch really works as it is.  Because its “choose your own adventure”-ness isn’t just a gimmick.  It doesn’t just have any plotline of a random subject matter that just happens to unfold in a “choose your own adventure” style.  Rather, its story, which is told through an interactive “choose your own adventure” process, follows a character who begins struggling with the validity of  his “choices” while dealing with a “choose your own adventure” novel/game.  Everything holds up nicely in a thematic sense.

Its basic draw is, of course, hinged on its novelty.  But, as a Black Mirror installment, what’s important is being a riveting science fiction tale that provokes reflection on human nature and technology.  And, I think, it succeeds in being that.  But just adequately.  As a Black Mirror offering, I don’t think it’s up there among the series’ best episodes.

Actually, none of Bandersnatch’s different plotlines is as tight as I would have wanted it to be.  There are a few plot threads that I felt weren’t straightened out.  For example (major SPOILERS from here on), in an early repeat, Colin felt that he and Stefan have met before already.  When I witnessed that, I thought it was a major piece of foreshadowing for its ultimate revelation.  But nothing really came out of it.  Other little, unresolved nuggets like that are scattered throughout the movie.

Moreover, with all the deep existential ideas that it touches upon, there aren’t any of the plotlines that utterly satisfy the cerebral cravings they elicit.

In relation to this, I was also led to the impression that  some of the twists will involve simulations (a la The Thirteenth Floor, a brilliant, underrated sci-fi movie from 1999) or parallel universes.  But neither was the case.

Speaking of parallel universes, some viewers have found it problematic that the realities of these different story paths are radically inconsistent and independent from each other despite having a common point of reference.  A character that is good in one path would end up being bad in the other, or an event many years ago may or may not have actually happened depending on what is the story path being taken.  These shifting realities are bothersome to some. I understand where they are coming from, but personally, I didn’t mind.  As a kid, I read a bunch of Choose Your Own Adventures books, so I’m familiar that as far as these stories go, that’s exactly how they behave.  The consequences of the choices made aren’t necessarily correlated.

Among all endings, my favorite is the so-called “Neflix endings.”  Here, the viewer reveals to Stefan that he’s being watched for the viewer’s entertainment in a platform called Netflix, and that he or she is making his choices for him.  Stefan then shares this with Dr. Haynes, but she challenges this notion by pointing out that there are more entertaining options than watching them talking.  This either leads to: a.) Stefan proceeding to have a fight scene with Dr. Haynes and his father; or b.) Stefan attempting to leave the office through the window, but then, a “Cut!” is heard, and it’s revealed that they are in a film set, to Stefan’s puzzlement.  Yeah, the “Netflix endings” are batshit insane, but it’s the most fun conclusion.  Meanwhile, the other endings are less crazy, and result to more seemingly complete stories.  But, yeah, I had the most satisfaction when it jumped the shark and went full meta.

All things considered, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is fun but imperfect.  There’s always the possibility that we are too busy admiring how cool its interactive spin is and the multiple surprises that get generated from it that we fail to notice that none of the plotlines truly add up cohesively.  Nonetheless, in the end, I believe that its story concept and inventive delivery make it worthwhile to experience.