"Vladimir is ultimately a story about an open marriage, the affairs each spouse undertook over decades, and a prospective affair that the book's unnamed wife and narrator is hoping to enter into. On the face of it, it's spicy, and the narrator has a tart, specific way of looking at the world, as when she describes herself as 'an oldish white woman in her late fifties (the identity I am burdened with publicly presenting, to my general embarrassment).'"
"All of this could add up to something sharp and enjoyable to watch. So it comes as a surprising disappointment that the adaptation, a newly released eight-episode miniseries created by the book's author and starring Rachel Weisz as the narrator (here given the initial 'M.'), Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) as the eponymous Vladimir, and John Slattery as the narrator's husband John, is a pretty husk of the novel that made every year-end best-of list back in 2022."
"Can Netflix make a show about an older woman's sudden lust that is sexy, thoughtful, and literary, the way Vladimir the book is? The answer, I'm afraid, is no."
Vladimir, Julia May Jonas's novel about a 58-year-old professor obsessed with a younger colleague while her husband faces discipline for past affairs, contains elements seemingly perfect for Netflix adaptation. The story explores open marriage, decades of affairs, and a prospective new relationship, featuring a narrator with a distinctive, sardonic perspective. The eight-episode miniseries, created by Jonas and starring Rachel Weisz as the narrator M., Leo Woodall as Vladimir, and John Slattery as her husband John, disappoints significantly. Despite the source material's success and contemporary appeal, the adaptation becomes a hollow version of the novel, failing to translate the book's intellectual depth and literary sophistication to screen.
Read at Slate Magazine
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