The Essex Serpent Review: un melodrama gótico visualmente deslumbrante

The Essex Serpent is a strange show. The Apple TV+ series’ title and logline suggest that it’s about a small English town that becomes the target of a mythical sea creature, and that element is certainly a part of The Essex Serpent. The series’ eerie opening scene even goes so far as to suggest that it’ll be its main focus. However, when it comes to mythical monsters and creepy deaths, The Essex Serpent frequently comes up short.

• Searching for the serpent
• Unexpected discoveries
• Progress can be painful

Contenido

• Searching for the serpent
• Unexpected discoveries
• Progress can be painful

That’s because, contrary to what The Essex Serpent ’s title suggests, it is not a Victorian-era monster/mystery show. Instead, the series has more in common with a torrid romance like Pride & Prejudice than it does, say, Creature from the Black Lagoon. As a result, The Essex Serpent is practically brimming with shots of several very esteemed actors walking contemplatively through fog-covered English marshes while thinking about the feelings of longing and romance that are tearing them apart inside.

The series is also replete with gorgeous costumes and some of the most visually splendid cinematography you’ll see from any TV show this year, which only heightens the series’ gothic mood and stories of tortured romance. All that is to say that, depending on where your interests lie, The Essex Serpent may or may not have exactly what you’re looking for.

Searching for the serpent

Based on Sarah Perry’s 2016 novel of the same name, The Essex Serpent follows Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes), a London housewife who is freed from her abusive and suffocating marriage when her husband dies. Finally able to live her life how she wants, Cora finds herself drawn to the rumors of a sea creature that has allegedly begun terrorizing the citizens of a rural English town.

Convinced that the creature may be one that was thought to be extinct, Cora seizes the opportunity to indulge in her love of science and natural history, and moves herself, her son, and her maid, Martha (Hayley Squires), to Essex in the hopes of discovering the truth behind the town’s mythical serpent. Once there, Cora crosses paths with Will Ransome (Tom Hiddleston), a married small-town pastor whom she quickly forms a surprisingly strong bond with.

Their relationship is complicated not only by Will’s loving relationship with his wife, Stella (Clémence Poésy), but also by the fact that many of the town’s superstitious citizens are convinced that Cora’s arrival may have something to do with the recent disappearances of several of their neighbors. Those two conflicts put a considerable strain on Will and Cora’s bond, which is also hindered by Cora’s lingering trauma from her abusive marriage.

Unexpected discoveries

Cora and Will’s relationship manages to survive the clutter of The Essex Serpent ’s numerous subplots and conflicts, and that’s largely thanks to the actors who play them. Even when he’s playing absolute cads, Hiddleston has an innate ability to bring a level of sincerity to his characters. That talent makes him uniquely well-suited for the role of Will Ransome, a preacher whose romantic longing is clear even underneath his humble, soft-spoken demeanor. Danes, meanwhile, has always been a courageously emotive performer, and she wears Cora’s emotions on her face for the whole world to see, which makes her a compelling counter to Hiddleston’s Will.

Frank Dillane also shines as Dr. Luke Garrett, an arrogant and talented surgeon who becomes attracted to Dane’s Cora early on in The Essex Serpent ‘s first episode. Dillane’s loud, confident performance makes Luke the perfect third point in The Essex Serpent ’s central love triangle. The show’s scripts also manage to expose Luke’s various flaws and strengths without ever trying to take the easy route by making him either too arrogant or too kind. Ultimately, he ends up emerging as the most multifaceted of the show’s three leads.

The strength of The Essex Serpent ’s central characterizations does not, however, extend into the show’s plotting or attempts at thematic profundity. Many of the series’ six episodes end up feeling scattered and languid in a way that makes staying invested in its ongoing storylines exceedingly difficult at times. Although its attempts at telling a story about how painful a process moving on can be are admirable, the series ends up throwing too many ideas at the wall for its thematic intentions to crystallize as satisfyingly as they should.

Progress can be painful

Desde el controvertido deseo de Luke de avanzar en los estudios quirúrgicos hasta la obsesión de Martha con el socialismo, Esex Serpent está lleno de subtramas sobre lo difícil que puede ser para las personas aceptar el cambio. Sin embargo, ese tema también está presente en la incapacidad de Cora para pasar del abuso de su esposo y en la forma en que muchas personas de la ciudad de Essex eligen propagar creencias obsoletas cuando se enfrentan a algo que no entienden. Es cuando Esex Serpent se centra en esas últimas historias que más involucra, pero la serie frecuentemente abandona sus conflictos centrales para centrarse en subtramas superfluas que están demasiado conectadas para sentirse significativas.

En otras palabras, El serpent es un poco una bolsa mixta. El ritmo lánguido de la serie y la narrativa desenfocada pueden hacer que sea demasiado frustrante para una experiencia para algunos espectadores, mientras que otros pueden ser ganados por sus hermosos trajes y estado de ánimo. Visualmente, la serie es prácticamente inigualable, con el director Clio Barnard llenando sus seis episodios con algunas imágenes góticas realmente impresionantes. La paleta de colores del programa también pone un gran énfasis en los negros y los azules, acentuando La Essex Serpent ‘Las diversas habitaciones sombrías y el expansivo cielo azul marino que se extiende por encima de sus personajes.

Si bien la serie puede ser una especie de prueba de fuego para los gustos e intereses de sus espectadores, Esex Serpent también es un programa que entiende algunos fundamentos básicos, a saber, que hay pocos lugares más agradables que las ciudades inglesas nebulosas, y no Personajes más adecuados para ellos que un par de románticos con corazones.

_ Los primeros dos episodios de la serpiente Essex Premiere el viernes 13 de mayo en Apple TV+.