OK, “How to with John Wilson,” an idiosyncratic documentary series on HBO, is actually the year’s best nature documentary, even though it doesn’t sound like that from its concept. Created by and starring John Wilson, the show seems to be made up of tutorials about everyday tasks but pulls off the unsolicited ability to transcend into some deep, funny thoughts on the human condition and nature. It excavates the soul of New York City, its inhabitants, and the natural world within an urban context, providing the viewer with a raw view of life’s complexities.
Using only a handheld camera to film, Wilson falls a little off the conventional path of filmmaking a documentary. Wilson captures the city’s flow in a very natural sense, recording spontaneous moments showing people and nature in an existentially connected way. Each episode begins with a basic how-to conceit, like “How to Make Small Talk” or “How to Improve Your Memory,” and sprawls out into a much bigger theme involving such disparate things as loneliness, memory, and time. The format has allowed Wilson to burrow into the quotidian and find beauty, humor, and poignancy in really unlikely places.
One of the major aspects that makes “How to with John Wilson” stand out among the set of nature documentaries is its observational style. He has this rare ability in terms of seeing and filming the unseen. His camera captures, from a squirrel crossing power lines to a tree growing through a fence, a potent picture of the resilience and adaptability of nature within an urban setting. These are again not constructed moments but the outcome of Wilson’s patience and sharp eye, hitting at the heart of the documentary.
But beyond these observations per se, it is Wilson’s narration that gives them depth. He has a voiceover that is introspective, very real, and frequently revelatory of his vulnerabilities and thoughts. The personal touch thus turns the series from picture browsing into a coherent narrative that makes the viewer engage with it at a deeper level. He shares these musings on the absurd and the beautiful in life and prompts viewers to reflect on their experiences and on the world around them.
It has also done a great job of representing the city of New York as something living and breathing. Through Wilson’s lens, it turns out that the city, its streets, parks, and buildings become characters in their own right. He captures the energetic pulse of the city, from the frenetic activity of Times Square to the lonely silence of a bench in the park. This view of the city is not merely a backdrop but an intrinsic part of a human experience that shows how nature and urban life stay together and influence each other.
The way Wilson engages with the city’s people adds more to the narrative of the documentary. His interviews with strangers are impromptu, often surprising, and bring out the varied responses and stories that make up the tapestry of the city. These encounters display the spontaneity and complexity of human nature, underpinning realism and humanness in the series. It could have been a conversation with a man building a memory palace or speaking with a vigorous referee; all these moments underline how rich ordinary interactions can be in many ways.
This leads to one of the more exceptional strengths of “How to with John Wilson”: it knows how to couple humor with deep insights. Intermixing his comic timing with situations that make life absurd, the series arrives at equal parts hilarity and thought-provokingness. The moments of its humor never feel contrived; instead, they arise organically from situations and their adherence to observation, thereby gaining strength. This is a delicate dance of humor and depth that allows the series to include serious themes without being at all preachy or heavy-handed.
The cinematography in “How to with John Wilson” is also commendable. At an extremely low budget, this series manages to be visually stunning despite the guerilla style. His frame, composition, and timing—conjugated in the visual—are simply engaging. Shots are picked to radiate meaning and feeling, thereby rendering simple scenes into nice visual stories. The cinematography has been very detailed, showing how dedicated Wilson is to his craft and his knack for raising the ordinary into something special.
The soundtrack of the series also goes well with its visual style. Many a time, this eclectic mix of music helped set the mood and tone for each episode, with emotion and meaning added. Each music choice may turn out to be a surprise but usually fits the situation, going strong with the wit and atmosphere of the series.
In the final analysis, “How to with John Wilson” is a nature documentary that has redefined what a nature documentary really is. In capturing the human experience and the natural world in an urban context, the series does this through observational style, personal narration, and a keen eye for beauty in everyday life. It is in Wilson’s knack for finding levity and profundity in the ordinary, plus first-class narrative technique and cinematography, that he distributes this series with such remarkable poise within the documentary genre. “How to with John Wilson” is an entertainment calling one to a rediscovery of the world anew by spotting interconnectedness in life in all forms.
