The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureShows, on demand & home video

Miley Cyrus revels in her dark side in Black Mirror’s Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too

Miley Cyrus revels in her dark side in Black Mirror’s Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too | Show review
5 June 2019
Rosamund Kelby
Avatar
Rosamund Kelby
5 June 2019

Movie and show review

Rosamund Kelby

Black Mirror: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too

★★★★★

Release date

5th June 2019

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Platform

Netflix

Links

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsite

Have you ever dreamt about what secrets lurk in the shadows behind the fragile showbiz facade? What truth might be revealed if the glossy Hollywood backdrop were to fall flat? Well, Charlie Brooker has, and it’s the kind of nightmare that will leave viewers reeling, suspended in a kind of bizarre limbo between a smile and a scream. Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too, from soon-to-be-released season five of Netflix’s Black Mirror, is a delightfully dark, searingly funny commentary on the dangers of fame and fandom. And at the wheel is none other than the queen of controversy, teen-idol-turned-cultural-icon Miley Cyrus.

The episode follows pop sensation Ashley O (Cyrus) and friendless superfan Rachel (Angourie Rice), who is desperate to be like her hero in spite of her sardonic sister Jack (Madison Davenport). However, when a line of superficial and sickly sweet AI dolls are released in the star’s name, we find out that something more sinister might be at play. 

Brooker clearly had fun when he wrote this one. As bleak and brilliant as ever, each line and lyric, pointed look and derivative dance move – from both human and robot – bear the signature of TV’s most cynical son. The script is equal parts horrific and hilarious, delving once more into ways in which fail-safe technology falters only at the hands of human error. The story, which deals with the exploitative nature of the industry and the dangers of its spread into the virtual world, is all the more refreshing for putting the agency in the hands of three young women. Rice and Davenport spar beautifully as the diametrically opposed siblings, but the real shock comes from Cyrus, who proves her mettle as a high-calibre actress. Her dark side is a joy to behold, and even her robotic, Alexa-style encouragements are frighteningly convincing.

On top of the performances, the stylish execution elevates this episode into the realm of the cinematic. Glossy pink wigs, deviously designed special effects and a brilliant soundtrack adapted from the songs of Nine Inch Nails bring this razor-sharp caper to a pacey and action-packed finale.

★★★★★

Rosamund Kelby

Black Mirror is available on Netflix from 5th June 2019. Read a Q&A with Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones here.

Watch the trailer for Black Mirror Season 5 here:

Related Itemsreview

More in Culture

Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher

Mersa Auda
Read More

We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online

★★★★★
Samuel Nicholls
Read More

We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks

Mersa Auda
Read More

Hello Cosmos – Dream Harder

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Public Domain at Southwark Playhouse

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Start the year right with these eco-friendly vegan and vegetarian food deliveries

The editorial unit
Read More

Unlimited Festival at the Southbank Centre: Centre stage for diversity

★★★★★
James Humphrey
Read More

RSC Next Generation: Young Bloods proves Shakespeare is timeless

Brooke Snowe
Read More

The White Tiger

★★★★★
Emma-Jane Betts
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Rosamund Kelby

Black Mirror: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too

★★★★★

Release date

5th June 2019

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Platform

Netflix

Links

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsite

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • Persian Lessons
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Jeremiah Fraites – Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Lonely the Brave – The Hope List
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher
    Theatre
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Hello Cosmos – Dream Harder
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Public Domain at Southwark Playhouse
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ten short literary collections to get you back into reading
    Literature
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Natalia Goncharova at Tate Modern | Exhibition review
“An electric, transformative experience”: Custody creator Ubain Hayo discusses the power of art as activism