'The Viewing' of RealGDT's CabinetofCuriosities has a drug-infused 1970 stylish experience to share.
What if you got an invitation, out of the blue, to be part of a very exclusive viewing in the house of a reclusive billionaire? It could be the experience of a lifetime, but it comes with its risks. Even so, four strangers will answer the call in Panos Cosmatos' “The Viewing,” the most stylish episode of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.
Drink, Smoke, Snort On the night of the viewing, the four guests of billionaire Lionel Lassiter meet at a garage with no information of what they are going to see that evening or why their host is being so secretive. The group is composed of famous novelist Guy Landon , musician Randall Roth , astrophysicist Charlotte Xie , and esoteric Targ Reinhard . It’s an unusual ensemble, and all they have in common is that they’ve been part of late-night talk shows on the radio.
Lionel arrives in the room carrying a special bottle of Japanese whiskey that survived World War II bombings and an earthquake. The bottle is unique, but Lionel opens it to share it with his guests. Randall is the only one unwilling to drink, but he’s pushed by Lionel, who wants everyone to be on the same wavelength before the viewing. Randall drinks the whiskey, smokes a cigarette, and prepares for the next rounds.
The Viewing Lionel’s guests are taken to an adjacent room where a giant meteorite is exposed on top of a pedestal. The meteorite looks like a fossil instead of a rock, and Charlotte is the first to notice its uniqueness. As it turns out, the meteorite is impervious to X-ray, cannot be dated by carbon tests, and seems to be made of a substance that cannot be found in the periodic table.