Investigating The Curse: Everything We *THINK* We Know About The New Emma Stone-Nathan Fielder-Benny Safdie Series
It’s time to put your detective hat on …
Posted on Nov 15, 2023 | 05:00pm
The Curse just sounds … intriguing. The SHOWTIME® and A24 co-production, now streaming with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan, is a 10-episode series about a newlywed couple struggling to make their vision for eco-living a reality in a small New Mexico town. Oscar®-winner Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, and Benny Safdie star. Safdie and Fielder are the co-creators – and that's where The Curse sounds very intriguing.
If you know A24 (the entertainment company behind films such as Uncut Gems), Safdie (the co-writer and co-director of Uncut Gems), and Fielder (the mastermind behind Nathan For You), then you know The Curse is going to challenge you. The first challenge? Trying to figure out what The Curse is really about.
To help you answer that question, we’re dissecting the teaser trailers, the official trailer, and the key art. Along the way – spoiler alert – we raise more questions. See, there's only one sure way to find out what The Curse is really about, and that's to watch it. But it is sure fun to guess along the way. Now, onto the investigation! 🕵️
Get Started
What We See: In a video spanning a little over a minute, and accompanied by a discordant soundtrack, Whitney Siegel (Emma Stone) and Asher Siegel (Nathan Fielder) deliver scripted remarks to a camera about their plan to teach energy-saving techniques to the local firefighters of Española, New Mexico. Dialogue completed, the couple stands motionless, smiles frozen, until directed to do one more take – at which point they deliver a near-identical performance, and the scene … warps into a title card for The Curse.
First Impressions: Whitney and Asher are people who help people -- er, right? But something's telling us (the eerie soundtrack and camera swirls, perhaps?) that there's more to them, and to their mission, than their simple, on-camera platitudes let on.
Other Hunches: The way the Siegels repeat their lines brings into question the reality of their reality show. To what degree are the Siegels’ personas in front of the camera their real selves? What is genuine in their behavior, and what is performative?
Get Started Exhibit B: Official Trailer
What We See: Mirrors. Water. Reflections. We even learn that the Siegels live in a glass-paneled house.
First Impressions: Well, there sure are a lot of reflective surfaces in the trailer … The question is: Why? Are the mirrors, reflections, and what-not trying to show us, the audience, who the Siegels are – or, are they trying to show the Siegels who they are?
Other Hunches: At several points in the trailer, the reflections of Whitney, Asher, and their producer Dougie (Benny Safdie) are distorted in the mirrored walls of the Siegels’ home. Is this meant to suggest that the three do not have clarity about how they're perceived in the working-class community of Española? Well-intentioned as the three may be, are they diluting themselves into thinking that their project is as much about philanthropy as it is about advancing their careers?
And Still More Potential Clues … : Water and liquid appear several times in the trailer. First, we see Dougie pacing on the banks of a river. A few shots later, he drips glycerine tears into the eyes of an interview subject. Is this sequence a juxtaposition of the natural versus the unnatural? Of the real Española versus what's being faked for the camera?
Later, we see Asher dribble a liquid over his head – a move that resembles a baptism. The substance, however, is not water, but a sports drink. Why is a would-be philanthropist performing a quasi religious ceremony … with a hot pink fluid that’s neither pure nor natural?
Get Started Exhibit C: "Meet the Siegels”
What We See: About 10 seconds into this promo clip, a senior figure – maybe Whitney’s father? – advises Asher on the best way to keep Whitney: “Be the clown” the man says. Next, we see Asher goofing off for Whitney in front of a mirror. Dougie then instructs an interviewee (the one he outfitted with glycerine drops in the official trailer?) to “wipe away the tears” as his camera goes to work.
First Impressions: Both the Siegels’ parental figure and their producer seem to be teaching the couple how to put forth the most appealing version of themselves for others’ entertainment. What's going on there? Are the Siegels afraid to be real?
Other Findings: At the start of the clip, we see a brief shot of the Siegels performing a Jewish ritual. This image, coupled with the aforementioned sports-drink baptism, raises the question: Do the Siegels believe themselves to be on the side of the good and righteous? Do the citizens of Española share this belief about them?
Get Started Exhibit D: Key Art
What We See: Well, there's the mirrored house again – the home-improvement team poses in front of it, their reflections warping behind them. But here's what our eye is really drawn to in this image: Dougie. He stands slightly taller than the Siegels. He rests his shoulder on Asher, gnaws a lollipop – and stares directly at us.
First Impressions: Is Dougie daring us to ask why he’s in the Siegels’ shot? As producer, his job is to stay behind the camera … isn't it? So, why is he in our faces? Why is he front and literally center? As we said, there's only one sure way to find out: Watch The Curse, streaming with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan.
Get Started
If you know A24 (the entertainment company behind films such as Uncut Gems), Safdie (the co-writer and co-director of Uncut Gems), and Fielder (the mastermind behind Nathan For You), then you know The Curse is going to challenge you. The first challenge? Trying to figure out what The Curse is really about.
To help you answer that question, we’re dissecting the teaser trailers, the official trailer, and the key art. Along the way – spoiler alert – we raise more questions. See, there's only one sure way to find out what The Curse is really about, and that's to watch it. But it is sure fun to guess along the way. Now, onto the investigation! 🕵️
Exhibit A: Teaser Trailer
First Impressions: Whitney and Asher are people who help people -- er, right? But something's telling us (the eerie soundtrack and camera swirls, perhaps?) that there's more to them, and to their mission, than their simple, on-camera platitudes let on.
Other Hunches: The way the Siegels repeat their lines brings into question the reality of their reality show. To what degree are the Siegels’ personas in front of the camera their real selves? What is genuine in their behavior, and what is performative?
First Impressions: Well, there sure are a lot of reflective surfaces in the trailer … The question is: Why? Are the mirrors, reflections, and what-not trying to show us, the audience, who the Siegels are – or, are they trying to show the Siegels who they are?
Other Hunches: At several points in the trailer, the reflections of Whitney, Asher, and their producer Dougie (Benny Safdie) are distorted in the mirrored walls of the Siegels’ home. Is this meant to suggest that the three do not have clarity about how they're perceived in the working-class community of Española? Well-intentioned as the three may be, are they diluting themselves into thinking that their project is as much about philanthropy as it is about advancing their careers?
And Still More Potential Clues … : Water and liquid appear several times in the trailer. First, we see Dougie pacing on the banks of a river. A few shots later, he drips glycerine tears into the eyes of an interview subject. Is this sequence a juxtaposition of the natural versus the unnatural? Of the real Española versus what's being faked for the camera?
Later, we see Asher dribble a liquid over his head – a move that resembles a baptism. The substance, however, is not water, but a sports drink. Why is a would-be philanthropist performing a quasi religious ceremony … with a hot pink fluid that’s neither pure nor natural?
First Impressions: Both the Siegels’ parental figure and their producer seem to be teaching the couple how to put forth the most appealing version of themselves for others’ entertainment. What's going on there? Are the Siegels afraid to be real?
Other Findings: At the start of the clip, we see a brief shot of the Siegels performing a Jewish ritual. This image, coupled with the aforementioned sports-drink baptism, raises the question: Do the Siegels believe themselves to be on the side of the good and righteous? Do the citizens of Española share this belief about them?
First Impressions: Is Dougie daring us to ask why he’s in the Siegels’ shot? As producer, his job is to stay behind the camera … isn't it? So, why is he in our faces? Why is he front and literally center? As we said, there's only one sure way to find out: Watch The Curse, streaming with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan.