Streaming: 'Station Eleven' is a wow. Give it a chance.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 10:18AM by Deborah Lipp
Station Eleven is a ten-episode mini-series that you may have avoided up until now, since it is largely about a pandemic. A lot of my friends tell me they can’t stand the idea. But bite the bullet and give it a try. In the world of Station Eleven (based on a novel written in 2014—long before COVID), a virulent flu wipes out 99% of humanity. It all happens in a week, so their pandemic is much less boring than ours...
The primary action takes place twenty years after the pandemic, although we spend a significant amount of time before and during the pandemic as well (event time is clearly labeled on-screen—they’re not messing with our heads with tricked-out time-jumps).
Most post-apocalyptic media is gloomy with a capital GLOOM. I approached Station Eleven with trepidation—fearing The Walking Dead without zombies. In the lawless world following the rapid destruction of civilization, there are certainly violent gangs and things to fear, but our main characters exhibit kindness and decency as an inherent part of their will to survive.
We follow Kirsten (Mackenzie Davis), part of “the Traveling Symphony,” a troupe of musicians and Shakespearean actors who, in “Year Twenty,” travel a circuit of small communities. We also follow Kirsten as a child (Matilda Lawler), and her companionship with Jeevan (Himesh Patel) in the first year of the pandemic. Interconnecting past and present, and many of the characters, is a mysterious graphic novel called “Station Eleven,” created by Miranda Carroll (Danielle Deadwyler).
Station Eleven is gently, and beautifully, asking some big questions. When everything is gone, what’s left? What matters? What’s worth rebuilding? The very existence the Traveling Symphony tells us that the ability to make art is front and center. Theater is worth rebuilding, and music, and creativity. Relationships matter—romance in this world is very nonchalant, but the ability of one human being to look another in the eye is not; it is paramount.
Station Eleven itself is a symphony, and just about every note is perfect. The world-building is a thing of jaw-dropping beauty. The costumes and production design are exquisite. The cast is outstanding. I am not completely enamored of lead actor Mackenzie Davis, but she’s doing fine work. Everything in her body language is “I am still the 9-year-old who lost everything.” Lori Petty, as the symphony’s conductor and mentor, is a joy as usual. But most of these miraculous actors are relatively unknown. Danielle Deadwyler gives me the PLEASE BE IN EVERYTHING feels. I’d only previously seen Himesh Patel in Yesterday but here I understand why he is becoming a star.
Lori Petty as "The Conductor"
I don’t know why so many artists think depressing times call for depressing art. In the Great Depression, they had frothy musicals and screwball comedies. That was a good idea. Hope is a good idea. Station Eleven agrees. It is too beautiful to watch through just once, so I am starting over again.
Station Eleven is now streaming on HBOMax
Reader Comments (7)
We had the same reaction to watching Danielle Deadwyler in Episode 3! A star is born kind of moment, I hope. Multiple time periods, huge emotional beats, reticent character all handled with can't-take-your-eyes-off-her skill.
I can't wait to see this -- this the second person i've heard say "you aren't watching it because of the pandemic but i promise it's not what you expect".
Station Eleven is a great series.
If you love it, I implore you to read the nove. Emily St. John Mandel's writing is phenomenally brilliant. The creators of the series changed enough to make reading the book a complementary experience.
I've read the book at least 3 times, and the series is well done enough to beg me to read it again.
Wow! What a lovely surprise to see my favorite limited series get attention from TFE. I, too, found it to be quite uplifting and have a few lessons for all of us living through a pandemic. It is in some ways quite intricate, and since I was binge-watching, I'll have to slow down and watch it again.
Yes it is terrific! And I agree with MJC, I finished the show then immediately read the novel which starts in similar places but winds up with a lot of plot divergence, so very complementary.
Thanks, folks. Sorry for not replying; I was having technical difficulties. MJC, the book is definitely on my list for the near future. The author is also quite prolific so if I love it, it gives me lots to explore.
@Deborah Lipp, I have only read her follow-up "The Glass Hotel" (and I've pre-ordered the newest, "Sea of Tranquility"). In "The Glass Hotel", there are a few easter eggs about "Station Eleven" that made me smile.