Starting your life over is an ugly, ugly business. Long before the days of The White Lotus, Mike White made one of the smartest satires focusing on a workplace environment and its inhumanity, to heartbreaking and hilarious effect. Enlightened follows Amy (Laura Dern), a mess of a woman getting her life back together after a disastrous meltdown, and it's one of HBO's most underrated series. Dern co-created the series alongside White, with White writing and directing most of the episodes. In Enlightened, a nuanced study of the art of starting over, Amygoes on a spiritual journey, deciding to change for the better and maybe help the world in the process.
Enlightened features a cast of fantastic comedic actors, who perfectly blend laughs with the heartwrenching drama of everyday life. Luke Wilsongives a great, unsung performance in his filmography as Amy's addict ex-husband; Dern's real-life mother, Diane Ladd, plays her onscreen mother; and White appears as Amy's shy co-worker. Debuting in 2011, Enlightened ran for two seasons, and received critical acclaim for Dern's fearless performance as a woman on the edge, and White's writing. Though HBO ultimately canceled the show due to low ratings, it still remains one of its best.
What Is 'Enlightened' About?
Dern brilliantly embodies Amy, an uptight corporate executive who has a breakdown at work after her boss, Damon (Charles Esten), whom she had an affair with, demotes her. Seeking treatment for depression at a clinic in Hawaii, Amy falls in love with the wildlife and animals, and returns to California a changed woman, seeking to reform her life. When Amy returns to the office, she is annexed to the bottom floor in a significant demotion, and works with several other misfits at the company who, for one reason or another, got sent to the bottom floor for doing something wrong. Amy struggles to adjust and wants to make a difference in the company when she realizes the harm their products do to the environment. Timm Sharp plays Dern's flamboyant boss, Dougie, alongside J ason Mantzoukas, Michaela Watkins, and Sarah Burns as fellow co-workers.
Laura Dern Performs an Epic Breakdown in 'Enlightened'
Mike Whitecaptured an iconic, onscreen breakdown in Enlightened, performed by a wild, ravenous Dern. Dern turned in one of her most daring and hilarious roles as the uncomfortable Amy, including an excruciating meltdown in the first five minutes of the show. Dern’s mascara-stained face and screaming voice is terrifying and scathing as, after being demoted, she tries to tear the elevator doors open to yell at her boss more. She’s like an animal as she screams, “I’ll kill you!” The last thing we see of this hostile version of Amy is a freeze-framed growl on her face. From there, she then transforms into a zen, hippy-loving environmentalist, thanks to her stay in Hawaii.
White writes Amy as a white woman blissfully unaware of her privilege, but also as one who wants to repent and leave behind the heartless businesswoman she once was. The series can feel like a warm hug, with Amy spouting wise words of wisdom interspersed throughout the work day as she returns to her company. She also often makes a fool of herself when trying to reconnect with old co-workers, who are afraid of her in the wake of the infamous meltdown. It’s hilarious, but excruciating second-hand embarrassment, like when she spills coffee all over her shirt, or is excluded from lunch dates now that she's not the cool girl anymore. But it turns out to be a blessing, and gives Amy permission and freedom to be whoever she wants to be.
Mike White Creates a Touching Story of the Modern Workplace
Image via HBO
Mike White himself appears as Amy's soft-spoken co-worker, Tyler. One stand-out episode is dedicated to Tyler's life as a depressed single man, until he takes up a relationship with a woman at the company, Eileen (Molly Shannon). When the series leaves Amy to visit other characters – like Tyler or Amy's mother, Helen – that's where the series really shines. It allows Enlightened to explore all the ways in which we can and can't change in order to find happiness. White and Shannon are excellent as an oddball, unlikely couple;Eileen brings Tyler out of his shell, and he successfully breaks the mold of being shy. It's one of the many ways the series perfectly captures the terror of starting over, no matter how big or small.
While Enlightened is a claustrophobic, sobering look inside the world of the 9-to-5 office environment, it's also interspersed with beautiful scenery. There are several flashback montages to Amy's time in Hawaii, and breathtaking moments of her swimming through the ocean, including her discovery of a turtle swimming alongside her through the waves. The sunlit montages often feature voice-overs from Dern, speaking White's one-of-a-kind, poetic dialogue. Her most frequent mantra is, "I will not run away from life my whole life…I will change, and I will be an agent of change." For those who love Office Spaceand Severance, and anyone looking to explore who we become in the name of work,Enlightened is a must-watch.
Enlightened is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
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Enlightened
After a very public breakdown and a subsequent philosophical awakening in rehabilitation, Amy tries to get her life back together.
Custom Image by Nimesh Perera
Image via HBO 
English (US) ·