3 out of 5

Director: DB Crew

Yes, I get it by now, Mr. Brown, you’ve elaborately orchestrated every little minute detail to convince people of x, y and z…  I hate saying that it’s become a little old hat now, and I also hate dismissing the grand presentation of the whole affair, but as Derren’s resources have grown, the impact of his spectacles has lessened.  Whether it’s because we’re used to his tricks and his shtick (think about what’s presented to you, embrace life, etc.) or because it’s a little bit of falling back on expected laurels to show a topic he’s interested in, or perhaps a little from column A and B… “Fear and Faith” falls into the category of his shows and specials from the last couple years that just don’t feel too inspired.

I liked his “Investigates” series because it felt honest.  He didn’t really rely on much more than logic to pursue his point in each episode, and that’s fine – Derren is an intensely smart guy, which informs his act for sure, and so just listening to him think through something can be funny and fascinating.  I don’t know if a second ep of “Fear” came out yet, but it purports to be about exploring the manipulative aspects of each extreme, episode 1 playing with how the placebo effect can convince us of miracle cures if we just so want it to be true.  So Derren shows us his test group of kids who feel they are wracked by various feary fears in their life, and he takes them to a facility where a new drug is being prepared that claims to… right, overcome fear.  And this is backed up by all of the expected studies and displays that Mr. Brown guarantees us have been especially coordinated to convince the participants of the validity of the magic pill, even though it’s just some sugar, and the facility is fake.

The results of who believes in the pill and how they claim it effects them won’t surprise you, nor will Derren’s very gracious handling of revealing the truth.  Along the way we get the appreciated explanations of the little things being done to tug and pull people in the right direction, but the “risk” or something not working never feels very real.  This can be summed up by a shot where they just enter the facility and Derren, in his voiceover narrative, tries to drum up some drama for the viewer by saying that if anyone peeks around the wrong corner, they could expose the whole sham… and the camera drifts over to a hallway where a whole bunch of props are stacked up that everyone “luckily” walked by.  It’s very showy, and besides the one or two people who inevitably don’t buy into the trickery (it is Derren Brown after all), the whole thing is just slick, and those camera pans to prop-filled hallways are like the re-shoots on “reality” series to get the most audience-satisfying angle on a fight.

Now I’m down on the whole thing, but only because it’s unnecessary in its construction.  Which is why I bring up “Investigates.”  That show had a very relaxed feeling to it.  I understand that Derren might feel that we expect him to be Mr. Misdirection, and that it’s not like he can’t pull these things off without, yes, a lot of planning, but I don’t need the wave of hands to distract me anymore.  That being said, the topic is interesting, even if it’s a spin on what he continually likes to toy with, and Derren is an excellent host and presenter and seems very genuine with and about people.    So would I watch another episode?  Of course!  But I have to admit that, by now, my expectations for what a Derren Brown special will be are hanging around the middleground.

Update, 7 months later: Aaand I finally saw episode two, during which Derren attempts to give a non-believer a spiritual conversion.  This episode was an amazing turnaround from the first part, reinstating the upfrontness that I preferred from ‘Investigates’ and Derren seeming to take more of an active interest in his participants vs. winking at the camera.  The set-ups leading to the event are interesting (none of the forced “this is how we did it” documentary bits of the first ep) – showing examples of psychological principles and how they can be twisted or turned in various ways purposefully – evangelicism – or ‘naturally’, those in-borne sensibilities part of what builds our moral system.  The latter elements are what Derren purposefully fiddles with for his unwitting convertee, and it’s devastatingly interesting and frightening, as some of Derren’s best experiments have proven to be.  The first portion probably would have seemed stronger and less tricksy had it focused its test on a smaller group, but I understand that it would’ve been hard to believably pitch medicine trials to a single person or duo.  (Then again, he’s Derren Brown, so we’ll believe anything.)  I should watch these back to back to see if anything works better or worse in that fashion, but YOU should at the very least check out episode 2.