In The regime, many things are happening at the same time and none of them are good. Through six episodes, the HBO production tells the fall of a dictatorial system that dominates a small country in central Europe. But at the same time, it analyzes the figure that supports it. Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) is the core of power in this nameless country. But not thanks to her violence, but to the mix between manipulation, charisma and a delirious ability to be a kind of disturbed collective mother. As if all of the above were not enough, the leader continues to demonstrate that she has a firm hand to punish cruelly. That, while she smiles kindly in front of television screens and crowds.
The HBO series is as unusual as it is interesting in its point of view. The premise of the script by Will Tracy and Sarah DeLappe attempts to make what could only be a story about political cruelty more complex. Which leads to The regime to delve into the idea that great charismatic personalities can be monsters with a charming mask. Kate Winslet gives her character a dark undertone. Which becomes increasingly disturbing when he shows that the supposed love he offers in magnanimous gestures actually hides an evil trait.
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But, they are not the only reasons to watch the series and explore its peculiar world. We leave you three reasons to analyze everything related The regime and the harsh ideas it raises about politics and the twisted vision of it it offers. Much more, when as his argument progresses, What begins as a transitional scenario is about to become a repressive outbreak.
The talent behind and in front of the camera
The regime It has a group of writers and actors, who turn charisma in front of the masses, turned into horror, into an evil fable. Creator Will Tracy already has considerable experience in telling the darkest traits of human beings through satire. first in The menu and then in some chapters of Succession. The truth is that the writer and director has experience in showing a type of perverse figure that becomes more fearsome as it leaves the realm of mockery.
Elena Vernham (Winslet), is indeed a combination of fearsome characters. With a kind gesture and beginning her public speeches with an affectionate phrase, she ends up becoming a monstrous leader, capable of murdering without hesitation. The script allows Winslet to explore unusual spaces in politics and its impact on the masses. As the plot progresses, the figure of the chancellor becomes more deplorable, poisonous and fearsome. That, while he asks his dead father for advice – embalmed and unburied – and plans how to suffocate revolts with bullets.
On the other hand, Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) is the representation of evil, of murder in the street and brutality. The series goes from one character to another, even achieving a dialogue between this assistant who responds to the name of the Butcher and who is capable of murdering for love. Especially the poisonous feeling that the sole leader awakens in him. This psychopath is convinced that Elena is necessary — and even essential — to sustain the world he knows. So he will protect her no matter what and with all the resources at his disposal.
A dazzling visual section
The regime uses Schönbrunn Palace, the historic summer residence of the Habsburg royal family, to show the unnamed country in which the plot takes place. At the other end, the natural landscapes shown are those of Austria, converted into a postcard of beauty with a dark air. So the technical team turns the museum-like rooms into a refuge for Elena and her entourage. But it also turns decadent luxury into a carefully chosen context to narrate what surrounds the political leader.
Elena is much more than a cruel woman in the middle of a complicated political moment. She is also a wife and mother. The location allows everything related to the chancellor's family and environment to become a landscape on its own. Specifically, when in the toughest moments of the plot, They become a poisonous allegory for the misuse of power and its privileges.
The regime uses the brightness of rooms and hallways to make it clear that Elena is confined in a golden cage. But at the same time, it is her excessive pomp that keeps her isolated from the people she claims to love. A point that makes the series an increasingly strange tale about the need for control and the twisted means used to achieve it.
Luxury secondaries
In addition to Kate Winslet, The regime also stars Andrea Riseborough — from To Leslie — and Hugh Grant, in a memorable but short participation. The series focuses all of its story's interest on Elena and her tainted environment. However, she is also interested in exploring the shadowy figures that move around her. What makes it more interesting and unique is the way the script works through an elaborate look at contemporary evil.
The regimeIt is much more than just the parody of a dominant figure in a country that seeks political balance in the midst of excess. At the same time, it is a deft exploration of what is considered important and relevant in a greedy age. An element of interest that the series explores with care and ingenuity.