I've never seen the film or read the book so coming in with completely fresh eyes.
Firstly, the positives. There's no point in a remake unless you have a new angle, and reimagining the central character as a woman works great (and they kept the masculine name of the lead as a nice nod). Zoe Kravitz is very cool and laidback and despite the show being five hours of someone moping and dithering over past and present loves, she almost makes it worth watching. I like how there were a couple of gentle nods towards racism, such as a guy who sees Cherise (Rob's record store colleague)'s advert as a singer for the band, then when he realises Cherise is a large black woman, he walks out. Nicely done, without getting on a soapbox. There is no 'agenda' in this programme, as some 'anti-PC' (i.e, bigots), will presume because the lead is a woman of colour, but nothing wrong with subtly pointing out a few truths.
The two main problems of the show are firstly that it's quite clearly padded out. What might have made an enjoyable five-part TV show, or even just a film, is dragged out to 10 episodes- the premise itself doesn't lend itself to that long a running time (it is primarily someone moping about past loves and failing to commit to new ones). The secondary characters aren't fleshed out, though there was some potential with Cherise- however much you might enjoy the show, there isn't enough material for a second series and I feel the first series is wrapped up enough that people won't feel short-changed.
The second problem is that music should be the heart and soul of the series. Rob runs a record store and a brilliantly curated soundtrack (there's plenty of songs about love after all!) might have justified the running time. The music, as well as the actress, should tell the story. Whereas this feels more like the writer Googled a couple of obvious music choices and occasionally chucked in music conversations. Particularly with a female lead, there was a great chance to make a show which isn't just a romance. Because the soundtrack and the emotional content of the show don't marry up, it falls short of its potential.
I think Rob is a relatable character although am not too sure about the obvious attempts to emulate Fleabag (breaking the fourth wall, character who can occasionally be cruel- an anti-heroine). It feels unnecessary.
So 5 stars for a good lead actress but so much wasted potential in a show that certainly provided enough running time to fulfil it.
Firstly, the positives. There's no point in a remake unless you have a new angle, and reimagining the central character as a woman works great (and they kept the masculine name of the lead as a nice nod). Zoe Kravitz is very cool and laidback and despite the show being five hours of someone moping and dithering over past and present loves, she almost makes it worth watching. I like how there were a couple of gentle nods towards racism, such as a guy who sees Cherise (Rob's record store colleague)'s advert as a singer for the band, then when he realises Cherise is a large black woman, he walks out. Nicely done, without getting on a soapbox. There is no 'agenda' in this programme, as some 'anti-PC' (i.e, bigots), will presume because the lead is a woman of colour, but nothing wrong with subtly pointing out a few truths.
The two main problems of the show are firstly that it's quite clearly padded out. What might have made an enjoyable five-part TV show, or even just a film, is dragged out to 10 episodes- the premise itself doesn't lend itself to that long a running time (it is primarily someone moping about past loves and failing to commit to new ones). The secondary characters aren't fleshed out, though there was some potential with Cherise- however much you might enjoy the show, there isn't enough material for a second series and I feel the first series is wrapped up enough that people won't feel short-changed.
The second problem is that music should be the heart and soul of the series. Rob runs a record store and a brilliantly curated soundtrack (there's plenty of songs about love after all!) might have justified the running time. The music, as well as the actress, should tell the story. Whereas this feels more like the writer Googled a couple of obvious music choices and occasionally chucked in music conversations. Particularly with a female lead, there was a great chance to make a show which isn't just a romance. Because the soundtrack and the emotional content of the show don't marry up, it falls short of its potential.
I think Rob is a relatable character although am not too sure about the obvious attempts to emulate Fleabag (breaking the fourth wall, character who can occasionally be cruel- an anti-heroine). It feels unnecessary.
So 5 stars for a good lead actress but so much wasted potential in a show that certainly provided enough running time to fulfil it.