La Revolución

All I could think about when I completed watching the show was that this show had great potential. Fictional dramatisation of the French Revolution using blood sucking dead but not unintelligent beings ruling over France-woah, the premise is great but the execution- meh! Over all, it's been a few hours since I've watched the show and it's already stale in my mind. I sincerely hope they do better in seasons 2, if there's going to be one.

To me this was one of the best 2020 shows. I can't understand why was this cancelled

I will admit that I initially felt duped by La Révolution because I try to watch everything blind. Thankfully, it was only a matter of seconds before I realised that the French Revolution period drama I expected was actually more of a vampiresque re-imagining of events that led to it.

Would I like it though? A tall order considering I find modern supernatural drama such a turn-off, and make no-mistake, the story is as vacuous and predictable as most. Still, I found a lot to like: The set-pieces, the costumes and the CGI recreation of pre-Revolutionary France, for example. It is interesting how mediocre writing can become so palatable when these aspects of a period production excel by so much.

The lead actress, Marilou Aussilloux, delivers a remarkably commanding performance as the show's heroine, Elise de Montargis, and this comes as a huge surprise in light of her minimal acting experience. The last time I encountered her, she had a silly bit-part in a single episode of the comedy Dix Pour Cent, and it's amazing to think she has evolved so much in such a short time. The lady doesn't merely have stage presence - she absolutely owns the screen whenever she is on camera.

Likewise there are sterling performances from Colin Beal as Elise's servant Ophélie, Amir El Kacem who plays a young Joseph Guillotin, not to mention Julien Frison who was born to give us the flamboyant and utterly villainous Donatien de Montargis. Blink and you may well miss the criminally under-utilised Jérémy Gillet - reduced to a background role as a perpetually neurotic messenger after his breakthrough on the 2019 TV series, Mytho.

Anyway, I will be honest, I was glad when the last episode was over but I'm not disappointed I watched it. I'm rating it 6/10 because that's where I find myself on the see-saw of dubiety. An entertaining visual treat, but not particularly edifying.

This show is absolutely fantastic and exceeded expectations. So many times I thought that there could be no further twists to the story, or that I was incorrect in thinking where it was going. It is brutal and suspenseful, but not too "scary" for those who aren't into hardcore horror. Do not go into it expecting a historical recanting of the revolution itself, but rather an alternate explanation. As a fan of history, I found it to be very interesting on every level as a lover of this genre. I highly recommend a couple episodes, and you'll be hooked.

Some things could be better, such as the graphics of cities and whatnot, however I can't really complain when the story is as compelling as it is.

As I read some of the reviews, it became crystal clear that many people just vote it down because its not what they expected. That's why I want to write about what people should expect. Its a completely fictional story losely based on a 18th century, French setting a short time before the revolution took place. The series doesn't try to be historically accurate and it never pretends to be. The story is in the supernatural, fantastic genre and there are recent, politically modern elements in it, like references to refugees and female gender roles, which at times can be a little bit plain and over the top. The characters are clearly split into the bad and the good guys, but even for the bad guys, there is some reasonable background story. There are worse and less elaborated character building series of this kind around.

The special effects are, for a series, very good, the cinematography and music is excellent, acting is not always on the highest level, but still very good and convincing, at worst solid, with attractive characters doing a good job for the storyline. In many ways the series reminds me of American movies from the 1990's and 2000's, just with more CGI well-placed where necessary.

Comparing the series to other gems of the genre, movies like Interview with the Vampire (1994), but especially Brotherhood of the Wolf, in French Le pacte des loups (2001) come to mind. Basically, its Le pacte des loups altered and transformed into an 8 episode series. All the basics and references are pretty much the same. So if you liked Interview of the Vampire, you might like this one, and if you liked Brotherhood of the Wolf, you have to love it.

People which don't like the fantasy and horror genre, but want to watch historically more accurate depictions of pre-revolutionary France, should go for other movies and series, or even better read actual historical books and scientific sources.