Rachel Weisz Is Pitch-Excellent in a Netflix Miniseries That Cannot Totally Match Her Freak

You’d be hard-pressed to search out an actor with bolder, extra compelling initiatives on their resume than Rachel Weisz. Most of those fall into the movie class, from team-ups with Yorgos Lanthimos in The Lobster and The Favorite to immediate sapphic basic Disobedience, Rian Johnson’s quirky adventure-comedy The Brothers Bloom or the edgy Gothic thriller My Cousin Rachel. In 2023, nevertheless, she led her first TV collection, giving two of one of the best performances of her profession as a pair of genius, ethically questionable twins in Useless Ringers. Regardless of being based mostly on a 1988 movie (which was based mostly on a 1977 film), it felt wholly unique and completely sensible — and maybe a bit too intense and subversive for the common viewers.

Although undoubtedly a darkish comedy, Vladimir’s lighter tone is more likely to show fairly a bit extra palatable and accessible to viewers than Useless Ringers. Nonetheless, there are particular thematic parallels between the 2 that spotlight the kind of challenge Weisz appears to be most fascinated by telling proper now: ones about flawed, complicated ladies who’re bursting on the seams with ambition and want. The truth that the Netflix present unapologetically embraces its protagonist’s imperfections in an age the place even probably the most sympathetic multidimensional feminine characters face immense criticism (To many’ Carol Sturka, for instance, or The Pitt’s Trinity Santos) makes it straightforward to miss that Vladimir itself is admittedly imperfect, too.

What Is ‘Vladimir’ About?

Vladimir introduces us to a anonymous artistic writing professor (Weisz), who’s suffered quite a few latest plights that basically boil right down to the problem that no person appears all that fascinated by her today. Her fellow professor husband, John (John Slattery), doesn’t want her anymore; her previously adoring college students discover her out of contact; and her 27-year-old daughter, Sid (Ellen Robertson), thinks she’s overbearing and unevolved. To make issues worse, John is in the course of a intercourse scandal for hooking up with a number of college students a decade in the past — extra an irritation than a betrayal for the protagonist, contemplating she and John had an association.

The entire world, it appears, desires her to sentence John’s actions and swiftly depart him, however the protagonist is way more fascinated by pining after a younger new professor as an alternative: Vladimir (Leo Woodall). She’s drawn to him like a moth to a flame, difficult by the truth that he’s married to perpetually burdened adjunct Cynthia (Jessica Henwick), with whom he has a younger daughter. Nonetheless, the sexual stress between the primary character and Vladimir is palpable… or is it? Is there an actual spark there? Or will she come to study that that connection is just all in her head — and that the fantasy isn’t all that it’s cracked as much as be?

‘Vladimir’ Lets Rachel Weisz Present Off Her Pitch-Excellent Comedy Expertise

From Home of Playing cards to Fleabagit’s not notably uncommon — particularly today — for characters to break the fourth wall, but it surely is likely one of the trickier storytelling gadgets to drag off. In incapable fingers, it may be tacky or an excessively handy solution to slip in overt exposition. Fortunately, Weisz makes a meal of her monologues, expertly taking part in off the viewers, who she treats as each trusted confidante and undesirable intruder relying on the state of affairs. Although marketed as an erotic thriller of types, Vladimir finally ends up being extra foolish than horny — and that’s not a foul factor. Weisz has at all times been a gifted comedic actor, however not often has she had the car to showcase it fairly like this, flexing her potential for dry, witty, dialogue-driven humor and far broader, kookier, and extra bodily fare alike. There’s not one second the place she’s phoning it in, persistently going all-in at even probably the most ridiculous moments.

I solely want Vladimir didn’t really feel prefer it was holding again. The collection is bookended by scenes that tease the protagonist being deliciously unhinged, although the opening flash-forward is revealed to be a lot tamer than it initially seems, and the ending is cheekily ambiguous in a means that’s not altogether satisfying. There are different tiny glimpses of this deviance peppered all through (like when the protagonist subtly grinds in opposition to her chair to pleasure herself throughout a gathering), however Vladimir is afraid to let her go full freak. The result’s a tone that’s grounded in a means that finally holds the story again from reaching its true bizarre and wild potential versus making it actual and relatable. The present has some chunk to it, but it surely stops in need of drawing blood, too shy and well mannered to fully embrace something that runs the chance of veering too far into offbeat or off-putting territory, regardless of its simmering enticingly below the floor.

Whereas Vladimir’s dramatic and thriller components don’t hit as exhausting as they may, the present nails its comedic beats time and time once more. Weisz’s wonderful efficiency is a giant a part of that, however the razor-sharp writing and inventive route deserve credit score, too, as they work in tandem to satirize Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z in equal measure. The way in which the collection integrates know-how is very notable, with two notably hilarious gags involving a barrage of textual content messages for a wax appointment and an all-consuming spiral about what a sure emoji from Vladimir may presumably imply. I discovered myself laughing out loud a number of occasions an episode and infrequently having to rewind to select up on a joke I missed, because the tempo is snappy, with none of the bloat that so usually plagues streaming exhibits.

‘Vladimir’ Nails the Feminine Gaze, however May’ve Gone Deeper With Its Themes

Although Vladimir does skew extra foolish than horny, there are successfully steamy moments. These are principally fast and imagined, with the protagonist daydreaming about Vladimir making out together with her in her workplace or coming onto her within the toilet. Woodall completely walks the road of impossibly attentive and attractively aloofand he has sufficient chemistry with Weisz to make their romantic scenes satisfying, even once they begin to get a bit repetitive. The truth that every of those scenes is certainly filtered via the feminine gaze, rooting us firmly within the protagonist’s perspective, is refreshing and nonetheless feels comparatively groundbreaking in 2026. The stranger, subtler moments when her hungry perspective turns into obvious — when Vladimir places his fingers behind his head, as an example, or rubs at a stain on his pants — are much more fascinating as a consequence of their specificity.

Vladimir raises attention-grabbing, well timed questions on energy, feminism, and the #MeToo motionbut it surely stops in need of participating with them in a significant means. As a result of it doesn’t appear to know fairly what it desires to say concerning the matters, it finally ends up not saying a lot in any respect, the commentary staying near the floor reasonably than diving deep into the intricacies. It revels in its principal character being messy and subversive, however in spite of everything is claimed and performed, it’s extra thematically clear and traditional than it desires to be.

Aesthetically talking, there are areas the place Vladimir showcases an actual sense of favor, proper right down to the episode titles, that are named after novels by feminine authors, and their card designs, that are clearly impressed by classical work. The needledrops are additionally notable, starting from Chappell Roan to Doechii and Patty Smith. The concentrate on ladies artists at each degree is important and undeniably influences the viewing expertise, even when subconsciously. By not leaning into its edgier, murkier components, Vladimir stops in need of being a masterpiece, but it surely’s nonetheless a hell of a number of enjoyable. Weisz’s assured comedic efficiency may have you laughing and rooting for the primary character (even if you in all probability shouldn’t), and there’s simply sufficient spice to scratch that romantic itch. Vladimir might not be an obsessive page-turner, but it surely’s nonetheless undoubtedly a ebook value studying.