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The new Wes Anderson short films based on the stories of Roald Dahls begin withSugarand end withPoison.
These four shorts have begun dropping on Netflix as separate installments on consecutive days, starting on Wednesday.
But they are actually best watched all at once.
Instead, weve gotten several.
Netflix, which acquired the rights to Dahls catalogue in 2021, is certainly toutingHenry Sugarabove the rest.
It will presumably be in the running for Oscar consideration.
As Vultures Bilge Ebiriwrote in his review, the film has a quaint, almost naive optimism.
And then theres maybe the most upsetting of them all:Poison.
When all is said and done, and the blanket removed, there is no krait at all.
The doctor takes it in stride.
To begin withHenry Sugarand end withPoison, which debuts last, is to grapple with an unsettling parallelism.
Even the way the shorts approach India changes.
InHenry Sugar, India is a place of magic.
InPoison, its where British rule is suffocating.
Collectively, these shorts are his grimmest output yet.
Only one is about a man choosing selflessness; the rest are all in some ways about human cruelty.
And then theres the Dahl of it all.
Certainly not the last Netflix Dahl movie: the (delightful, to be clear)Matildamusical.
Anderson puts Dahl front and center, even personifying him onscreen.
Theres a discomfort in this.
You are immediately confronted with this man whose hatred of Jews is almost as renowned as his storytelling.
This seems especially at odds withHenry Sugarand its message of altruism.
But as you spend more time with the shorts, centering Dahl starts to make sense.
Individually, each short is a brilliantly executed, faithful adaptation filled with Andersons technical mastery.
you could spend your time just marveling at the choreography and the way the set pieces move.
Its a statement on humanity, yes, but also on Dahl himself.
