Put down the boccaccio. I think I picked it up the moment I heard that Netflix was making a series called The Decameron to refresh my memory of 14th century Italian doorstops. No reload is required at this time. Only Giovanni B’s framing device remains from this series. Ten characters escape from Florence, where the plague is spreading, and take refuge in a villa in the countryside. In this book, they tell stories every night to entertain themselves. Here they were invited by the wealthy Count Leonardo to just get on with their lives. As you would expect with 10 strangers trying to settle down together, it quickly becomes messy and soapy – especially since one of them is a very attractive doctor.
It’s Dioneo (Amar Chadha-Patel), a servant to the hypochondriac Manbambino (“My excrement looked very black this morning”) Tindaro (Dougie McMeekin). Both are attracted to Lisiska (Tanya Reynolds, Sex Education’s alien porn lover). Lysisca is a maid disguised as her father, Philomena (Jessica Plummer), after the spoiled Philomena falls off a bridge on her way to the villa (her rescue attempts are ignored). opportunities presented by her absence). Lisiska is attracted to Dioneo, but must extract a marriage proposal from her boss in order to secure her future.
The rest of the group consists of Nayfile (Lou Gala), a sexless married couple, and Panfilo (Karan Gill), a religiously obsessive man in a state of constant sexual arousal. . The two remaining servants at the villa, Silisco (Tony Hale) and Stratilia (Leila Farzad), learn that their master, Leonardo, died of the plague just before the guests arrived. I kept it a secret to avoid it. Then there’s the banana duo of Leonardo’s fiancée Pampinia (Zosia Mamet) and her maid Misia (Saoirse-Monica Jackson from Derry Girls). Nervous Pampinea is desperate to get married before she gets too old and out of the system (“I’m 28!” she says quietly to Lisiska, who recoils in horror), while Misia is always trembling on the edge of madness. Adding grief over the death of his girlfriend (she was secretly taken to the villa in a barrel) does not improve the situation at all.
Brawls and Buboes…Panfilo (Karan Gill), Mysia (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Tindalo (Dougie McMeekin), and Silisco (Tony Hale) from The Decameron. Photo: Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix © 2024
So. There’s always something going on and it’s fun. John Hannah has a bit role as Philomena’s dying father, various bandits, fanatics, sword fights, brawls, and of course Bubo. But while The Decameron is advertised as a drama, and the cast themselves seemed to have a good time with it, I can’t say I laughed out loud, or that I laughed much at any point. It’s like a handerby without teeth. That’s good in the sense that I don’t think any of us have the strength to endure the toothy version, but it shouldn’t really affect the comedy’s rating.
And even if you’re looking for subtext, it doesn’t really help in terms of drama. At one point, it could have been a deliberate commentary on class politics, war, or drawing parallels to the coronavirus experience. Its author, Kathleen Jordan, said that one of her motivations for writing the series was in the early days of the pandemic to address how unfortunate it was for various celebrities to be confined to multi-million dollar mansions. He said he came from that time. Fourteenth-century Italy seemed like a good place to transpose the question and ask the difference between the haves and have-nots. However, that concern is not really reflected in the final version.
The success of “Bridgerton” led to everything from the great “The Great,” to the memorable “Mary and George,” to Sally Wainwright’s unlikely role as the rebel Nell, to the quirky but endearing “My Lady.” That means the schedule is filled with all kinds of historical content. Jane (What if the Queen of the Ninth Day were alive?!). The Decameron falls between too many stools to be considered a victory. But it’s full of great performances and lovely gowns (for me, jewel-toned medieval curtains always trump 18th-century pastel pufferies), and is currently in the midst of a glut of similar products. It’s enough to mark its own place. enjoy.
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“Decameron” is available on Netflix
