So Long, Marianne

I'm a big Leonard Cohen fan and have seen lots of documentaries and footage about his career. When biographies are made, it can be jarring when you see someone known being played by an actor - there are plenty out there that just don't work because you can't suspend disbelief and forget you are watching an actor pretending to be someone you "know".

Full credit to Alex Wolff, about half way through the first episode I forgot I was watching someone trying to play Leonard Cohen and just got involved in the story and thought of him as Cohen. He's great. In the latter scenes in the series where Cohen is in the recording studio and singing on stage I couldn't actually tell if it was a recording of Cohen dubbed in or the actor singing.

Impressive!

Adore the music and poetry of Leonard Cohen, so this is a tainted bias review of the celebrated artist as a young man (amazing performance by Alex Wolff) and his devoted love to his muse, Marianne Ihlen (the brilliant Thea Sofie Loch Næss). It was this tumultuous relationship that inspired the classic song, and many others, as revealed in this superb international drama.

Their love was formed on the heavenly Greek Island of Hydra, where artists from all over the world hid to create and discover oneself (that also included Allen Ginsburg), but mostly became self-destructive in the process. These foreign artists on the island bonded and became a tight knit family that supported one another in the ensuring madness. Most prominent being the Australian writers (perfect casting of Noah Taylor and Anna Torv) who took Cohen in and showered him with love and care.

So Long, Marianne has the right tone and structure of a feature film, thanks to the limited directors (only two) and writers who had control in every aspect, delivering a heartfelt journey of the legendary artist, Leonard Cohen.

This one might have been great if it had been 5 or 6 episodes, instead of 8. Not that it's bad. The acting and cinematography are both excellent. Alex Wolff and Thea Sofie L. Næss do great jobs in the lead roles. The visuals and period details are beautiful.

However, as so often with shows nowadays, the material is stretched out, meaning too much repetition.

Plus, the episodes too often end abruptly, not really being stories of their own. A series isn't meant to be just a long movie divided up. See "The Crown" and you'll know what I mean. In "So Long..." the exception is Chelsea Hotel, by far the best episode. The two last ones, penned by Jo Nesbø, are in general the best. The dialogue also picks up here and becomes more realistic and witty.

If you're a fan of unhappy love stories or, like me, the inimitable Leonard Cohen, you might enjoy this. Just be aware that this is a young, hormonal, and immature version of Cohen. I always argue you should never have idols - you'll be disappointed - but this made me realize I had put him on a pedestal as the quintessential Good Person. Turns out he was a human being.

The series follows young Norwegian Marianne Ihlen as she travels to a Greek island with her husband, a lying, abusive, womanizing artist. She then leaves him for a sweet, depression-prone, womanizing artist. Oh, and both guys keep leaving her, a LOT.

They leave her and come back, Leonard plays with Little Axel and says something lofty, their friend Charmian talks dramatically about her wasted life, Leonard gets advice from Stellan Skarsgård. Repeat.

Seriously, the play scenes are cute, but half of them could have been cut. Same with Charmian's monologues. I missed actually seeing what she talks about, as well. Several times she says the local islanders have started to hate the foreign bohemians, but we never see it.

Along with this they all consume an unbelievable, ridiculous amount of cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol. I know there really was a lot of drug use, but this veers into parody. It's a wonder these people didn't die of acute poisoning.

To sum up, it's a decent show which, with some cuts, better pacing, and slightly better dialogue, could have been really great.

Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen's famous and intensely emotional love story is expertly explored in "So Long, Marianne" (2024), which sensitively and truly captures their nuanced bond. Øystein Karlsen's series masterfully manages to strike a balance between Cohen and Ihlen's entwined lives, showing them as equals who are each other's creators, lovers, and saviors. The production provides an aesthetically striking and historically accurate depiction of their voyage, set against the lively backdrop of the 1960s bohemian artist scene in Hydra, Montreal, Oslo, and New York.

The way that Alex Wolff captures Leonard Cohen's inner turmoil, vulnerability, and quest for meaning in his work is really moving. While Thea Sofie Loch Naess portrays Marianne as an equal partner in their love story rather than merely a muse.

The series' artistic decisions, such as its sumptuous soundtrack and lyrical contributions from musicians like Patrick Watson, transport viewers to Cohen's early emotional life. The program offers a potent reflection on love, fame, and self-identity by capturing the essence of their mutual creative influence and the sacrifices they made.

"So Long, Marianne" stands out as a poignant and personal examination of two well-known characters, highlighting their development as individuals as well as their strong relationship. For lovers of Cohen, it is a must-watch because is masterfully made and focuses on both his early life and his enduring love for Marianne.

Poorly written and directed, "So Long, Marianne" lacks the narrative strength to explore the journey of Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen on Hydra. The story is repetitive and poorly inserted flashbacks slow the pacing to a miserable crawl.

In the role of Cohen, Alex Wolff is too meek and uncertain to grasp the drive and inspiration that the Canadian poet and writer would later bring to his music in the course of his time on Hydra and evolving romance with Ihlen. He conveys nothing of Cohen's charisma and artistry and instead turns him into a lonely puppy dog.

Further, given the fact the series is based on a biography of Ihlen, the story is skewed too much in the first few episodes towards her life with her husband, the brutal and cruel Axel Jensen. Though there is nothing wrong in this per se, audiences will be naturally inclined to focus on Cohen and balancing the series between two main characters is a difficult task and ultimately fractures the plotting.

One bright spot is Thea Sofie Loch Naess's (I suppose her Scandinavian agent could manage to convince her to shorten her name to some reasonable length!!!??????) performance as Marianne Ihlen is outstanding and she ought to be able to take her career to the next level on the basis of her work in So Long, Marianne.

Most of my Canadian friends were deeply disappointed in Wolff's sluggish and pained attempt to capture Cohen's insecurities. One could never image a man with so little drive and creative spirit would be able to go on to enjoy the highly successful music career that was his destiny!

Another problem is that the series seems to be trying to stretch the drama beyond its limits and it would have been wise to compress events onto 5 or 6 episodes rather than 8. This is why I love the title of another reviewer's post: "Too Long, Marianne." Very apropos, indeed.

Finally, there is the distinct feeling that this is a second-rate Canadian production where the casting, writing, and overall "look" of the series pales in comparison with American, Spanish, or UK series that do a much better job of creating strong characters and giving the narrative greater urgency. Peter Stormare, as Irving Layton, is almost too good of an actor and too powerful a presence to belong in this series.

Another serious flaw is the annoying presence of the Charmian Clift character who takes up too much space and is constantly lusting after Leonard.

Overall, this is a rather sloppy and schmaltzy tribute to Leonard and Marianne which suffers from a lack of narrative focus and very slow pacing. Ultimately there is little in Wolff's performance as Cohen that draws us towards him. Cohen, however mild-mannered and reserved he could be, had an aura about him and was a very charismatic man and a skilled womanizer. Wolff, however, has zero charisma in the role and is definitely not a natural born seducer!