Le Régime

My Review- HBO streaming Foxtel The Regime - Streaming on Foxtel My Rating 6/10

The Regime is billed as a Political satire which it certainly is , however for me it's more of a slapstick comedy than clever satire.

It's worth a look just for the brilliance of Oscar winner Kate Winslet's performance as the witless narcissist Chancellor Elena Vernham who rules like a dictator on speed an unnamed Central European principality .

Elena is quite unhinged even seeking instructions from her mummified father when the proverbial "S"hits the fan.

The unnamed kingdom is centred in a vague location between Switzerland and Germany and its deprived citizens mine plutonium while their leader and their corrupt government live in luxury ,an all too familiar story.

Kate Winslet obviously had great fun filming The Regime and has great comedy timing .

I admired the way she kept up Elenas's lisp impediment throughout the series plus her occasional singing on the local television station to entertain her people at Yuletide.

The Regime actually gets quite dark toward the conclusion as Chancellor Elena's empire begins to crumble and the rebels stage a coup.

Matthias Schoenaerts is also very impressive as the Rasputin like villain Corporal Herbert Zubak who mesmerises Elena with his charms and mysterious health remedies after he helps her surrogate son Oskar who suffers from seizures.

The other impressive cast member is Andrea Riseborough who plays Oskar's birth mother Agnes and personal assistant to Elena she is straight faced and dour throughout but adds real substance to a fractured plot.

This 6 part series In my opinion may have worked more effectively as a feature movie at times it reminded me of Wes Anderson's brilliant 2014 movie The Grand Budapest Hotel .

However this series for me was a bit of a drawn out farce lasting far too long .

The team of writers headed by series creator Will Tracy who wrote The Menu and 3 episodes of Succession which I think are both brilliant I thought lost their way a little in this romp comedy.

Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs directed 3 episodes each and I think maybe that's one reason that for me it lost its way for me .

Let's just say I'm glad I watched The Regime for the ensemble performances especially Kate Winslett.

Ok, this is an odd one. And worthy of your attention. The premise seems imaginative but if you've an ear to world history and current events, the story is too plausible to be disregarded as fiction inspired by unrealistic fantasy. If you can't see the parallels to the insidious culture of indulging the sickest whims of our out-of-touch rulers, then this will probably be more irritating than relevant. Stop trying to compare it to anything else because you will mislead anyone curious about it. It's dark. Don't expect it to be humorous. Ironic, yes. Funny, no. The concept is relevant and the performances are fantastic. If you're looking for lighthearted entertainment, then this will probably not be for you. It requires a thoughtful, critical, and open mind to appreciate the satire. It's uncomfortable. It's disturbing in a very biting and calculated way to provoke thought. I like it.

This was a series with so much potential. Funny, no - at least I never found anything to laugh at, but satire does not need to be side splittingly hilarious.

I would have loved to see more of Andrea Riseborough. I thought she was one of the more interesting parts of the series, but it was not to be. What happened to the child? Throughout the entire 6th episode Kate Winslett's character does not enquire about him once. Even for a megalomaniac that is quite something.

I seem to be one of the few that did not take to the "butcher". I found her fascination with him quite baffling.

I agree with those who think that Kate Winslett had too much screen time to the detriment of the other characters. Less is more. And this could have been so much more.

I have to say I expected it to be way worse, and after watching 3 episodes I'm pleasantly surprised. Being from a post-communist country, I can definitely sense the satire and sarcasm of this show. They managed to portray the absurdity of dictatorships and its dictators pretty well. It reminds me of Lukashenko's Belarus or Ceausescu's Romania. I liked the subtle references to certain people and events. The "reunification" thing is basically what happened in Crimea, the Corporal practically became Elena's Rasputin for a while, and the whole "rural craze" was a spot on too, as such things really happened in my country during communism, not to mention faking some pseudo-historical theories of one's origin to boost their egos ("The Foundling"). I have to admit I am quite entertained, intrigued and want to watch more. Lastly, I will say that I'm not really surprised at the low rating, as there is many things about this show that your typical western audience simply wouldn't get.

Heavy satire, talking about a "democratic" regime in a fictional country, which LOVES freedom and celebrates Love with prisons, opinion monitoring to combat misinformation.

Kate Winslet is perfect on the role, she has charisma, and sound crazy, but you can't hate her. Good cast around her and she is a star.

Hope the next episodes keep the same tone of mockery, love what the writers did

People that agree with the the way the world is heading, won't like this series for sure. Since they don't have that much sense of humor.

Hope the characters get the evolution and deepenest as they deserve, but for the first episode it was actually good.