Lupine, the new Netflix TV series with Omar Sy manages to keep glued to the screen, albeit without great novelty of the script. Read our Lupine review.
ORIGINAL TITLE: Lupin. KIND: TV series. NATION: France. FILM DIRECTOR: Marcela Said, Ludovic Bernard, Louis Leterrier. CAST: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Clotilde Hesme, Vincent Londez. time: 42 to 50 min. per episode. DISTRIBUTOR: Netflix. EXIT: January 8, 2021.
Lupine is the new Netflix TV series of French production, available on the platform from 8 January 2021 and which opens the serial season of the new year very well. A highly anticipated TV series that brings the character of Lupine back to the screen, set in our day and played by Omar Sy.
Lupine is originally a 1905 novel by Maurice Leblanc that has inspired many adaptations over the years in the form of movies, TV series, manga, animated series. A character who, like Sherlok Holmes, has inspired the minds of many creatives, directors and cartoonists for his story as a gentleman thief, who steals from the wealthy, but is also on the side of the most needy and who is chased by the police constantly the victim of his elegant deceptions .
The plot | Lupine Review
The series with Omar Sy brings us to the present day with a man named Assane who is inspired by the book Arsenio Lupine, the gentleman thief to carry out a series of thefts and actions that are part of his greatest project to take revenge on the death of his father , committed suicide for being unjustly indicted for the theft of a necklace. In the series we meet the fundamental narrative ingredients to keep the viewer glued to the story: a charismatic character, a revenge and revenge project, mystery and many new narrative pieces that fit episode after episode.
An enjoyable product but with some flaws | Lupine Review
To start with, none of these elements are new in the serial world, the genius of the protagonist, the twists, the witty narrative joints, are a mixture of elements that work very well and which above all lend themselves to fruition in episodes. However, what works together with the narrative tension is certainly a very ambitious product from the point of view of technical realization: a direction with fast scene changes, very accurate photography that has Paris as a background and a great protagonist.
The series consists of 5 chapters, which are episodes of about 50 minutes and which therefore form a mini series of the right duration so as not to complicate the horizontal plot and the hero’s deeds too much.
Inspiration from the Lupine phenomenon is mixed here with the exploits of another great storytelling character, The Count of Monte Cristo, who in turn triggered many cinematic and serial inspirations. Assane is an educated man, with a painful past and a complicated life, in which he can never find peace, especially when he decides to claim his father’s death and attack one of the richest families in France. The figure of the thief, therefore, often appears obscured by that of the most famous avenger in literature who seems to make the protagonist appear more like a contemporary anti-hero than a gentleman thief.
Crackling departure and disorientation towards the end | Lupine Review
In this plan of revenge we see him extricate himself from many adventures, from thefts, kidnappings, searches and a past that keeps returning with the flashbacks that alternate the scenes of each episode. Precisely for this narrative structure, the series is certainly very pressing, especially in its beginning: a crackling departure that takes us inside the Louvre and in the center of Paris and puts us in the situation of wanting to know more and discover as many clues as possible.
Towards the middle of the narrative, about the third chapter, however, there is an evident slowing down of the narrative rhythm that arrives at the end of the episode with a stop and a new direction that was not the starting one. As if the series were struck by excessive ambition, too much content is put into such a short narrative structure. The desire to show us Assane in all his aspects, that of man, son, best friend and father takes away cools the adrenaline of a drama full of action to become in the end a drama without a precise identity.
Conclusions
What remains of this first part of Lupine is certainly an enjoyable TV series, successful in the attempt of pure entertainment, from the bitter smile to the games of deception. Responsible for this positive aspect, is also the protagonist, Omar Sy who makes available her acting talent by building a character that is entertaining, with her facial expressions, her body language, but is also of emotional depth in the most intense moments concerning his revenge plan. We are not faced with a masterpiece of the serial panorama or even something totally original, because we have already seen the intertwined plot of revenge, revenge and action in many forms, such as in Revenge with the female protagonist Emily Clark.
But despite this, Lupine is a mini series to recommend, to spend a pleasant marathon, rediscover the classic and original novel of the gentleman thief and certainly have the desire and curiosity to start the second part and see how the infallible protagonist will come out.
Omar Sy takes the whole scene
Points in favor
- Omar Sy perfect in the role
- Well mixed action and crime
- References to the original novel that make us rediscover a classic of literature
Points against
- Narrative rhythm without a precise direction towards the ending
- Screenplay with few original ideas