Sofia Vergara as Griselda Blanco in Netflix’s “Griselda”.
Photo: Netflix
“Griselda” premieres January 25 on Netflix.
Foto: Elizabeth Morris / Netflix
A bit into “Griselda” there is a scene when the main character – high and affected, not only by drugs but also by her own power and a kind of paranoia that everyone wants to put her there or will let her down – picks up a golden weapon. Then it’s easy to give up. Because even if Griselda Blanco had a gold weapon when she lived in Miami, the scene and what immediately follows is a kind of soap opera version of how you think that, for example, “Scarface” and “Narcos” could have failed.
The beginning of the six episodes looks different.
Sofia Vergara plays the titular drug queen with poise, as confident in the fragility as the necessary brutality of the story. Of course, the viewer recognizes Vergara behind the facial prosthetics and make-up. More impressive is her body language and the way she moves. Gone is her sometimes lively “Mother family” portrayal, what remains is a woman as marked by the violence as a part of it.
“Griselda”
Manus: Doug Miro, Eric Newman, Ingrid Escajeda, Carlo Bernard and more.
Regi: Andrés Baiz.
With: Sofia Vergara, Alberto Guerra, Martin Rodriguez, Juliana Aidén, Vanessa Ferlito, Christian Tappan med flera.
Premiere: January 25 on Netflix.
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“Griselda” moves forward with haste. There is hardly any thought of deepening the characters around the main character. The rush hurts the commitment, which becomes less and less as Sofia Verga’s version of Griselda Blanco fizzles out.
It is difficult to sympathize with a character who, on the one hand, claims to do everything for her children, but who must be aware of what her decisions will lead to. The cork goes, for several characters and also the viewer, when a hasty choice leads to the death of a child. Lust for power is part of this character but towards the end it doesn’t suit her; the story has not established Griselda’s inner world clearly enough. There are lots of whys but only hows.
“Griselda” is a drama, not a documentary. Still choosing the easiest way forward and also inflating a number of characters to the point of parody is more disruptive than helpful. A shame, especially when the production design and costume choices are lovely.
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