"Every time I feel good, I think it'll last forever, but it doesn't."
Director: Sam Levinson
Release Date: First Episode - June 16th, 2019
Where Available: HBO, (Youtube, HULU, Amazon with Premium Subscription)
Summary:
Euphoria follows a group of high-school students as they navigate a mine field of drugs, sex, identity, trauma, social media, love and friendship in today's increasingly unstable world.
Review:
This has been one of my favorite reviews to write, and probably took the longest, so please read all the way to the end!!
If I was to recommend one show that I know every single teenager in my generation would genuinely enjoy, Euphoria would be my pick. Shows like Thirteen Reasons Why, Sex Education, and Elite (all on Netflix) try to tackle the same modern coming of age story, but none come close to this.
I had a hard time starting this review. I watched Euphoria a little bit over a week ago and I still can’t put into words the emotions that it made me feel. There are so many things I want to say about this show, but I think the only way you can really know the power of Euphoria is by watching it yourself.
Euphoria revolves around Rue (Zendaya), a 17 year old drug addict who recently overdosed. Coming out of rehab, Rue doesn’t plan on staying clean. After meeting Jules, she realizes there is more to life than chasing this feeling of 'nothingness' that drugs bring her. As we meet other characters like Nate, Cassie, Kat, and Chris, we see how the life of a modern teenager isn’t exactly what meets the eye, and that the truth is sometimes better left unsaid.
Visually, Euphoria is absolutely stunning. The color palette of purples and reds mixes with sparkles, low-lit rooms, haze, and sophisticated camera work to create this atmosphere and aesthetic that I have never seen in a show before. Even though its right there in the title, the best way to describe the vibe of this show is 'euphoric.'
Cinematographer Marcell Rev and director Sam Levinson both wanted something visually grounded in reality but at the same time looked the way teenagers imagine their lives to be. They called the aesthetic they created 'emotional realism' which is based on the characters emotions and not what the surrounding world actually looks like. The emotion of each scene drives the lighting and the camera movements energy.
One example of their teamwork is a beautiful tracking shot in Episode 4 - Shook One: Pt II. During a chaotic Carnival, the camera is passed from one character to the next, connecting them all in one seamless movement. With hundreds of feet of dolly track set up in the carnival, every mark was hit, which made the scene feel so natural. 4 camera stitches later, we travel from a pretzel stand to a Ferris Wheel to all over the carnival in what seems like one shot.
Euphoria is a career defining performance for Zendaya. From movies like The Greatest Showman and Spider-man to her throwback Disney series KC Undercover, Zendaya has become one of my favorite actors. Even my dad is a fan, saying that in The Greatest Showman: “Zendaya’s eyes connect with the viewer,” whatever that means. Her performance in this series is truly one for the history books (tune into the Emmy‘s on September 20th to see if she wings Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series!) Rue’s trauma is so authentic and surprising, which is not something I am able to say often. I felt for Rue. I was able to sympathize with her, and I know many will be able to empathize with her as well. The way Zendaya carries herself and the weight of leading a series tells me that we will be seeing more and more of her in the future. Her upcoming projects include the movie DUNE with Timothee Chalamet and a movie filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic called Malcom & Marie.
We cannot forget the rest of the cast and their outstanding performances. Each characters is so beautiful and scary and amazing and horrifying. Jacob Elordi takes his acting to a whole other level as Nate that I was LITERALLY screaming at my screen multiple times throughout the show. If you based Elordi's talent solely on his performance in The Kissing Booth, you have not even witnessed an eighth of the power he has as an actor in Euphoria. Eric Dane, who you all know as Mark Sloan from Grey's Anatomy, literally blew my mind as Cal Jacobs. I could not believe my eyes because this character was so much more intricate and insane than anything I had seen him in before. Angus Cloud (Fezco), Maude Apatow (Lexi Howard), Alexa Demie (Maddy Perez), Barbie Ferreira (Kat Hernandez), Algee Smith (Chris McKay), Sydney Sweeney (Cassie Howard), and the rest of the cast knocked me out of my seat. These breakout performances should not go un-noticed, and I can't wait to see what we get out of them in Season 2!
Each episode of Euphoria generally follows a different character and their darkness while at the same time showing how their life is intertwined with the rest of our characters. I will leave you to figure out who each episode is focused on, but aside from their lives, Euphoria is primarily a love story. Jules, played by Hunter Schafer, is a transgender girl who is new to town. Rue and Jules become instant friends, and as the show goes along, we see them develop into maybe something more.
The way LGBTQ characters are portrayed in Euphoria is the representation Hollywood has needed. Each character brings their own complexities to the show, and its groundbreaking because being queer isn't their main character trait. They all fight their own battles throughout the show, but their gender identity or sexuality is secondary.
Along with this accurate representation, we also are given an insight into the dangers of queer depression. Each of our characters struggle with sexual confusion in their own ways, dealing with trauma from the both the past and the present. Just because they are portrayed accurately doesn't mean they live in this bubbly world of happiness.
The parents in this show are also something worth mentioning. One of the most common story lines in LGBTQ fiction is the lack of support and acceptance from parental figures. Even though this is a reality for a lot of people in the LGBTQ community today, Rue's mom in Euphoria shows us that there are supportive parents that need be represented as well.
In the words of Maddy: "Sexuality is on a spectrum!" This mature and educated understanding of modern LGBTQ terminology is something I personally haven't seen too much of in Hollywood recently. In quote from an interview with Hunter Schafer in Variety: "There need to be more roles where trans people aren't just dealing with being trans; they're being trans while dealing with other issues. We are so much more complex than just one identity."
When it comes to Euphoria, adults might actually be the ones who need the trigger warning. I know that my parents weren't thrilled about me watching this show at first but it wasn't because they thought I wasn't mature enough. Most adults I know are infuriated with Sam Levinson's directing, especially the ones that choose to voice their opinions on the internet. For many teens, Euphoria probably feels like a documentary that gives a visual representation of what high school life is actually like.
Zendaya worded this perfectly, so I am here to repeat what she said in an instagram post the day Euphoria premiered on HBO:
"Just a reminder before tonight's premiere, that Euphoria is for mature audiences. It's a raw and honest portrait of addiction, anxiety, and the difficulties of navigating life today. There are scenes that are graphic, hard to watch, and can be triggering. Please only watch if you feel you can handle it. Do what's best for you."
Euphoria may not be the story of every teen, but it is one that no teen will forget. Go watch Euphoria on HBO now! Please message me and let me know what you think about the show and what your favorite episode was:)
Nominated for 6 Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series, Outstanding Contemporary Costumes, Outstanding Contemporary Makeup, Outstanding Music Composition For A Series, Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics, Outstanding Music Supervision
There are so many amazing quotes in Euphoria that I couldn't just pick one, so here are some of my favorites:
"The other thing about depression is it kind of collapses time. Suddenly, you find your whole days blending together to create one endless and suffocating loop. So you find yourself trying to remember the things that made you happy. But slowly, your brain begins to erase every memory that ever brought you joy. And eventually, all you can think about is how life has always been this way. And will only continue to be this way."
"Real love is when you can't exist without someone, when you'd rather die than be apart. And the whole world goes dark and nothing else matters but the person standing in front of you."
"Drugs are kind of cool. I mean they're cool before they wreck your skin. And your life. And your family. That's when they get uncool. It's actually a very narrow window of cool."
"Every time I feel good, I think it'll last forever, but it doesn't."
"I know your generation relied on flowers and father's permission, but it's 2019, and unless you're Amish, nudes are the currency of love. So stop shaming us."
"Maybe people are nostalgic about high school cause it's like the last time in their life that they get to dream."
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