At this point, Cahill's film announces its intentions of being an allegory on addiction, and an addict's search for a safe place (their “bliss”) in this big, bad world. She shares a yellow crystal with him that gives him 'powers'. They instantly bond for being the only 'real' people in a world full of autobots and human beings shackled by unwritten rules. Isabel tells him that the world they're living in, isn't "real". He's told that he has been fired, so he understandably hits the bar and meets a mysterious stranger called Isabel (Hayek). Shortly after this exquisite introductory scene, Wittle is summoned to his boss's cabin. It's therefore a great piece of casting, which allows us to give the benefit of the doubt to the character. Wittle seems a little distracted and off-centre from the very first frame, but we assume that to be Owen Wilson's nervous screen presence as an actor. We learn about his recent divorce, his dependence on prescription drugs, his fractured relationship with his (about to graduate) daughter and his seemingly dull and toxic workplace shot with a deliberate hue of grey. The more he tries to perfect the nuances in his pencil sketches, the more unnerving is the cacophony outside. Cocooned in his cabin, dreaming up meticulously detailed drawings of a 'peninsula' and a dream house, we're smartly fed nuggets of information about Wittle's apparent mid-life crisis. Even though the office sounds busy, Wittle's cabin is a sea of calmness, where even a phone ring sounds like an intrusion. Wittle's introductory scene, in a call-centre called "Technical Difficulties", is wonderfully staged. Our protagonist here, Greg Wittle (Wilson) is told about a similar alternate reality under slightly more grim circumstances. For Hindi cinema lovers, one might see parallels to Anurag Basu's brand of whimsicality, while some might even note echoes of Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, where an ordinary man daydreams about his extraordinary ‘heroic’ conquests. “Rainn Wilson and The Geography of Bliss” starts streaming on Peacock on Thursday.There’s no denying that Mike Cahill's Bliss, starring Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek, is an earnest film. ![]() It’s all about those connections, fostering deeper and larger family connections. “It’s these connections and communities that are going to bring me the most joy and bliss throughout the course of my life. “I would say that it has changed me by making me recognize that it’s my friend groups, it’s my faith community, it’s the folks at my little rinky-dink tennis club,” he said. Viewers will see Wilson doing everything from a cold plunge in the Arctic Ocean with a group of Viking women in Iceland to meditating in Thailand. So what an amazing opportunity to have a personal journey. “Loneliness and disconnection, alienation as well, kind of all the symptoms of the modern world. “Anxiety is something I’ve dealt with my whole life. Watching him travel the world in an attempt to unlock the secrets of bliss is both entertaining and educational. “I mean, it doesn’t get better than that.” ![]() “They’re going to pay me to go around the world and look for happiness?” Wilson said. He’s contemplated why that was for years, so he was excited when he was asked to do a series based on the book, “The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner. Wilson said that even while he was starring on the hit series “The Office,” making a ton of money and finding personal and professional success, he wasn’t feeling the joy one might expect. ![]() In a recent interview with Wilson about his new show on Peacock, “Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss,” I started by thanking him for helping me not feel guilty about not feeling happy. Rainn Wilson in a scene from his new show "Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss." from Peacock
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