Davailable from today on Netflix, Vladimir is an eight-episode miniseries – for about 30 minutes each – which explores desire, power and insecurities in the academic world with an ironic and surprisingly bold tone. At the center of the story an unnamed professor, the excellent Rachel Weisz, struggling with a midlife crisis and a young colleague (20 years younger) terribly attractive who will do anything to conquer.
Vladimir: Netflix series, plot, episodes the plot of the series based on the book by Julia May Jonas now streaming on Netflix
M. (Rachel Weisz) is an American women’s literature professor with a past as a successful writer. Married to the dean of the faculty John (John Slattery), has to face the scandal of her suddenly estranged husband after some former students revealed that they had an affair with him. While everyone expects the woman to take a clear stand against John, she is distracted by the arrival of Vladimir (Leo Woodall), a married professor with a young daughter, on the facultybut above all young and sexy.
Progressively obsessed with Vladimir and his body, M. tries to plan a seduction plan that makes him fall in love with her. But the plan will have unexpected consequences for everyone. Especially for the two men. To complicate everything there is the return home of his daughter, a bisexual lawyer.
Rachel Weisz and Leo Woodall in “Vladimir”. (Netflix)
The review: an irresistible and politically incorrect series
Based on the novel of the same name by Julia May Jonas, Vladimir is a Netflix series that mixes academic satire, desire and personal crisis. More than the plot, however, the direction by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini focuses on the protagonist’s point of viewa fantastic Rachel Weisz, and his fantasies. Often told by breaking the fourth wall, a narrative device that remember series like Fleabag – and which allows the viewer to enter directly in the mind of the protagonist, between desires, frustrations and a sense of aging.
Vladimir Furthermore, it manages to stand out for the provocative way in which it addresses issues such as female desirethe fear of no longer being attractive and power dynamics in the university world. However, unlike Luca Guadagnino’s film, After the Hunt, the atmosphere is deliberately ironic, over the top and edgy. Almost a satire on relationships, but above all on the academic ego.
Despite a slight narrative decline (and tension) in the last two episodes, the series strikes us as being politically incorrect, delightfully provocative and at times deliberately uncomfortable. The unusual look at female desire and identity in the contemporary worldmanages to make the series stand out not only among Netflix’s recent productions, but also in everything in the current panorama.
The cast: Rachel Weisz and Leo Woodall
English actress who has always been a little underrated, Here Rachel Weisz gives a great performance as an actress, full of ironic and ambiguous tones. The actress manages to make the M. complex and interesting character, always maintaining a balance between irony and introspection. A depth achieved without resorting to excess.
Alongside her is the handsome Leo Woodall, in the role of Vladimir, who gives an effective and measured performancecapable of building a fascinating but at the same time enigmatic character. The cast also includes the excellent John Slatteryfamous for the cult series Mad Menwhose controlled and natural acting makes it absolutely perfect for the role of the disenchanted John.
