If You Liked ‘Black Mirror’s “Common People” Episode, You Need to Watch this Heartbreaking Modern Classic
Despite being mostly remembered for its bleak themes, Black Mirror is no stranger to stories about love. In episodes such as “San Junipero” and “Be Right Back,” the series deals with love in the face of death. In “The Entire History of You,” while technology plays a pivotal role, love and jealousy take the forefront in one of the show’s most gut-wrenching episodes. Finally, in “Hang the DJ,” love and determinism walk hand in hand as a couple tests their compatibility through a cranked-up version of Tinder. However, no episode of Black Mirror has dealt with the subject matter of love quite like Season 7‘s very first episode, “Common People.” In a plot that questions the limits of this uniquely human feeling when confronted with disease, this episode evokes one of the most devastating love stories ever told: Michael Haneke‘s 2012 instant classic Amour.
Aptly titled after the French word for love, Amour is a film that, much like “Common People,” questions what becomes of soulmates when life-changing events come a-knocking. Movie and TV episodes share a myriad of similarities that range from the roles its characters play in the tragedy that is their lives, to an overall sense of despair that takes over everything to, of course, the ending, which cements the similarities between “Common People” and Amour to a point in which it is hard not to see the film as an inspiration for writers Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali. We’ll try not to spoil too much, but suffice to say that if you know how one of these stories end, you know the conclusion to the other as well.
Both ‘Amour’ and “Common People” Deal With the Cruelty of Disease
This is not to say that Haneke should be getting all up in arms and getting ready to sue Netflix, mind you. As a matter of fact, Amour and “Common People” should be seen as complementary stories, each covering an aspect of the tragedy of life that the other has left behind. While Amour focuses on the pitfalls of aging, “Common People” reminds us that, no matter our age, we’re all still sacks of meat that can falter at any time. “Common People” also alerts us to the process of degradation that the technology we rely on is currently undergoing – a process that has become known as “enshittification” – and the dangers of leaving our lives in the hands of big tech companies. But, despite their differences, both works deal with the cruelty of disease and what becomes of love when we can’t even recognize the person we’re with anymore.
“Common People” stars Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones as Mike and Amanda, a construction worker and a schoolteacher who are happily married and trying to conceive their first child. Their lives, however, take a turn for the worse when Amanda is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. In comes Tracee Ellis Ross as the representative for Rivermind, a company that promises to back up Amanda’s consciousness and stream it into her body so that she can go on living her normal life. But in between price hikes and the introduction of ads to the service’s basic tier, Mike is forced to turn to a demeaning line of work just to have his wife by his side. When he fails, she becomes but a ghost of herself.
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Meanwhile, in Amour, Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are a couple of intellectual octogenarians who fall into hard times when Anne has a stroke. Initially paralyzed on one side of her body, she becomes unable to form coherent sentences and even understand the world around her when a second stroke hits. Georges is suddenly turned into Anne’s caretaker, and grows increasingly depressed about having to witness the woman he loves wither in such a horrible way. The ending of this captivating and beautifully acted story – Emmanuelle Riva should’ve taken home that 2013 Best Actress Oscar instead of Jennifer Lawrence – is one of the most devastating things ever put to film.
“Common People” and ‘Amour’ Might Serve as an Introduction to Michael Haneke’s Filmography
And yet, Amour is perhaps one of the most easily digestible films ever directed by Haneke. With a tinge of melodrama, the movie isn’t as anxiety-inducing and depressing as, say, Funny Games or The White Ribbon. There is a certain hope to be found in its plot, a hope in a love that is unrelenting, even if it ends in tragedy. Thus, Amour is the perfect introduction to Haneke’s body of work, the best film to start with if you have never seen anything by the director.
On the other hand, “Common People” might not be one of the most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror, but it is certainly among the saddest. There is, thus, a jump that can be made from one work of art to the other. If you’ve enjoyed “Common People”, if the way the story talks about disease and love touched you, why stop there? Check out Amour, you certainly won’t regret it.
