The New Look

Generally we get the fashion side of the minds of designers. This time we are transported to the major events in Christian Dior's life.

Acting is spot on and so is the cinematography.

Authentic feel for the resistance and Nazis as they are portrayed in a more subtle realistic way.

Bonus is Coco Chanel's big haunt. Juliette Binoche embed her so well. Kudos to her.

Ben Mendelsohn's acting is perfect and felt.

Costumes and sets historically correct.

Lighting was done in a way you feel the period.

Cinematography utilizes old and new techniques to keep you interested.

Writing keeps you engaged.

Glad this was produced with care.

I was apprehensive fur a reason after so many disappointing shows from Apple that had great cast, budget and concept but decided to do a great pilot followed by 8 episodes of side stories of little interest with a decent finale if you were lucky (For All Mankind, Foundation), this has all the production values actors but also a story that has momentum and does not feel like a slog/ getting through time wasting dialogue. Can't say how historically accurate but definitely interesting so far. Both Ben Mendelsohn and Juliette Binoche are great, sound design could be better, at some point just had subtitles instead of changing the volume all the time for too loud music/ too quiet dialogue game shows love to play.

I really enjoyed this it has a real calming atmosphere which makes it engaging and interesting. I felt like it was able to give just enough depth without being overly complex. The cast were good and of course where everyone is speaking English with a French in Paris it will always be off putting. But I was captivated by the story and the characters.

It's not a period I was so familiar with but I found it engaging and interesting. The way it's shot felt intimate and gave it an intensity. Also the scenes and location's felt realistic and gave the show a sense of realism. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

Ben Mendelssohn and Juliette Binoche give fine believable performances in this series. As does Maisie Williams as Catherine the sister of Christian Dior. Maisie, is of course incredibly well-known from Game of Thrones. In this role she was so believable and her performance so subtle that initially I did not realise who the actress was and had assumed she was a young French actress chosen for the role. The production quality is impeccable with especially sumptuous locations. The serious is almost worth watching for that reason alone. But unfortunately this is all rather badly let down by a light treatment that too often lacks any convincing emotional intensity. As such it belongs more in the realm of escapism than the serious drama the (based on a true life) story of intense courage and love truly deserves.

The New Look is worth watching based on the acting performances alone-Ben Mendelsohn, Juliette Binoche, Malkovich and Maisie Williams who since GoT has turned in multiple big performances. My complaint is the historical inaccuracy involving the Coco Chanel character and storyline which is nearly half the script. It shouldn't matter because Hollywood scripts aren't meant to be documentaries. But when the truth is more interesting than what the scriptwriters put to page why make the change? For some reason they make her conflicted and being pulled in by the Germans. In reality she was a full fledged sympathizer and shared their views decades before they marched into Paris. She was directed involved in using German Laws to attempt and seize the business from her partners. As some have said, instead they whitewashed and girl bossed her. The C. Dior storyline is much more historically accurate and entertaining. But for some reason they didn't feel the need to meddle as much with his biography.