The New Look

I would have laughed at anyone who would have suggested that I would enjoy a TV series about Christian Dior. Initially, only watched it for my wife, because it starred Ben Mendelson, and because of its World War II history. However I came to love it because it was about love, about the creation of beauty, and how those could help people through unimaginable horror. In the end, I cried tears of love and joy.

At first I thought this series was going to be outstanding and for the first 4-5 episodes it was. Great cast, script, story and acting. While the second half continued to be watchable, even enjoyable, it seemed to run out of steam to such an extent that it dragged in parts. I found Christian’s continual moping around and melancholy mood quite annoying. Of course there were justifiable reasons for it but the show just dragging on so long meant his one style mood just got irritating. I’d rate the first 4 episodes an 8 and the last 6 as 5 to 6 depending on the episode. Rating of 7 overall for me dragged down because it was overly long. 7-8 episodes would have been enough.

Speaking in English with French accents is a terrible choice. (and ze germanz speak English тоо!). It’s a constant reminder of something fake. It’s an outdated practice, indicates that this has been dumbed down, lazy production. Look at any good recent movie or TV show, they let characters speak in their own language.

And whom is it for? Not for people who know fashion history. Silly dialogue, like Coco saying “what is fashion?l”. Unbelievable scenes with nazis. And looks like lower cost production than other  series.