Qui la versione in italiano Inventing Anna
Genre: Based on a true story (can it be considered a genre? 🤔)
Country of production: USA
Platform: Netflix
Year: 2022
Seasons: 1 (9 episodes)
There was a lot of buzz about Inventing Anna, and the enthusiastic reviews, as well as the fact that the story was inspired by real events, had piqued my curiosity...
From the first few minutes, it's evident that it's a
Shondaland production, with the same vibe as
Grey's Anatomy (there's nothing wrong with that, but we're still talking about a show that started twenty years ago and a style that I no longer enjoy).
The first episode was boring, too focused on the journalist character, who, frankly, didn't interest me, and the actors didn't fully convince me.
The second episode was more interesting, and I had thought that, given the limited number of episodes, I would continue watching.
What convinced me to have nothing to do with it anymore was the clear bias towards Anna from most of the characters, the winking and support of her "exploits." This attitude was largely mirrored by the audience, and it's something I don't agree with: stealing from the rich is still stealing; deceiving and appropriating others' belongings doesn't make Anna a hero, quite the opposite. We're not talking about a fictional story or a skirt-wearing Robin Hood remake; Anna didn't even use the money to help others, which still wouldn't have justified her actions, but at least I would have partially understood the sympathies she generated.
These are real events that don't excite me or receive my endorsement.
Genre: Drama
Country of production: USA
Network: Showtime
Year: 2014
Seasons: 5 (53 episodes)
- Dropped after 17 episodes
It's incredible how many years have passed since the pilot of this series! (And even more incredible, I would say, that I still remember it...)
What I loved about The Affair was its main characteristic, which was the same events being told from different perspectives (although at times, it could be boring or clearly repetitive). The differences in small or significant details, like the clothes worn by the characters, allowed us to delve into the memories of the protagonists, thus understanding their reasons and feelings.
The first season seemed brilliant to me, and I believe the story would have been perfect if it had ended there, without that last scene that opened the doors to a continuation.
The subsequent episodes felt like the usual stretching of the story to produce as many seasons as possible.
The comments on the finale seem mostly positive, but I'm glad I stopped watching the series: I know for certain that I wouldn't have liked it.
--
The handmaid's tale
Genre: Dystopian
Country of production: USA
Platform: Hulu
Year: 2017
Seasons: 5 (56 episodes)
Until a few years ago, if a TV series was based on a novel I had read, I had to watch it. If I hadn't read the book yet, I would catch up before the episodes were released. This was the case with The Handmaid's Tale in 2017.
To be honest, the novel didn't enthuse me, but I fearlessly started watching the TV series. Flawless, especially when it came to the performance of the main protagonist, Elizabeth Moss. The writing was excellent as well, so much so that my ratings included two 8s and even a 9 for the first three episodes.
However, perhaps the show was executed a little too well.
The loss of freedom and rights for women, their wretched condition, the situation of the city... it all felt unbearably suffocating (so much so that I thought I had watched many, many more episodes), too far from being impossible... I couldn't bring myself to continue, especially when the frustration of not being able to follow the series in its original language on the platform hosting it in Italy added to it.
If there were fewer episodes, maybe I could consider catching up, but with 51... just no!
