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When Prime Minister Elena Burnham (Kate Winslet) addresses the citizens of an unnamed central European country, she doesn’t sound like a politician. “My love,” she chirps in a pouty, posh accent, further softened by her lisp. “I bless you all, and I bless our love. Always.” Seven years into her reign, this recognition means that Burnham is no stranger to the role of head of state, or even as an autocratic strongman. This suggests that it transcends its role. The propaganda videos she recorded from the luxury hotel that has become her private residence are more like guided meditations than ideological sermons. Varnum seems to believe that the relationship between this ruler and her subjects is more intimate and emotional than mere governance.
Before creating “The Regime,” a six-episode HBO series set in Barnum’s impenetrable echo chamber, writer Will Tracy worked on “Succession.” (Tracy also co-wrote the haute cuisine satire “The Menu” with Seth Reese, who is an executive producer on “The Regime.”) Similarly, Varnum cannot be traced to a single inspiration. Like President Vladimir Putin, she is a germophobe, and her self-imposed isolation has made her paranoid. Like Marine Le Pen, she lives in the shadow of her late father. She is a fringe figure who has become a mainstream member of a far-right party. Varnum has railed against his left-wing predecessors, who have modeled themselves after fictional characters like George Orwell’s Big Brother and scapegoated them like Emmanuel Goldstein.
“Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong honed his comic book skills under “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci, a highly influential “The Regime.” Like the scrambled apparatchiks in his film The Death of Stalin, Varnum’s senators form a Greek chorus of yes-men poorly suited to reality testing or dissent. Tracy’s scripts also share the vivid, creative approach to profanity that unites these works, as when Varnum claims that the local rural area smells like “pig urethra.” But the world of “The Regime,” as presented by directors Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs, is more surreal than that of its comic book forebears. Varnum’s ego, separated from her constituents, functions as a reality-warping field. (When she experiences menopausal hot flashes, others have to act like they’re not freezing cold.) Her conventional logic no longer applies.
We first meet Varnum through the eyes of her new employee, Colonel Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts). Colonel Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a soldier with anger issues who is given the unpleasant nickname “The Butcher” for his role in quelling protests. As a reward for her loyalty, Varnum summons Zubak to her palace, orders him to constantly measure the humidity around her, and follows her with a hand-held device similar to her sunken-eyed watchdog. Vernum becomes convinced that fungal-borne toxins are polluting the air, and she transforms into a more sinister version of the ailing housewife played by Julianne Moore in Safe. In her broadcasts, the prime minister is a symbol of calming authority and a figurative mother of the nation. Once the cameras were off, she pumped in oxygen from a tank, ordered the palace to be demolished down to the studs, and had her servants transport it away in a transparent cocoon. She claims that Varnum values her “graceful heart,” which is another of her cult ways of saying it. However, Zubak arrives at the house in disarray. And by implication, the mind is also confused.
Winslet has already established herself as a TV beachhead with the gruesome crime drama “Mare of Easttown,” for which she won an Emmy in 2021 for the role of the same name, but “Mare” will earn her praise from movie stars. A showy yet modest performance was required. “The Regime” takes full advantage of Winslet’s overwhelming charisma while keeping the wattage low. Varnum is ruthlessly commanding in one scene, calm and indifferent in the next, and beneath him is an overgrown child in constant need of validation and direction. She gets both from Zubaku. Zubak quickly enters Burnham’s inner circle by seeing her as she wants to be seen. It is literally a guiding light that is separate from concrete policies. “Without her, It doesn’t make any sense.” Zubak exclaims at a meeting ostensibly devoted to military strategy.
The Regime is not devoid of political commentary. The show is particularly skeptical of American foreign policy, highlighting how the world’s superpowers use small countries as vassals, regardless of whether they align with democratic values. . (Burnham’s relationship with Uncle Sam only worsens when she jeopardizes her patrons’ access to valuable cobalt mines.) But “The Regime” offers real-world insights. I like the abstraction that comes at the expense of . There are strong hints of blood-and-soil nationalism in Zubak’s calls for land reform, nationalist expansion, and protectionism over sugar beets grown “from our land,” and hints of ethnic division in the crowd scenes. It depicts multi-ethnic people without any background. Zubak has a strong, albeit common, European accent. At first there seems to be a sharp contrast between this ordinary man and the British upper-class tone of Varnum and his comrades, but then the union leaders and their very same tone Until I met some kids from the countryside.
The effect is to take the focus away from the material aspects of authoritarianism and to draw attention to its The goal is to shift the focus to psychological aspects. “The Regime” takes a sharp look at the aesthetics of fascism, from its ridiculous cabbage patch photo shoots of folk women to its Eurovision-style extravaganza. (Yes, Winslet sings.) Just because these glasses are laughably lame doesn’t mean they aren’t menacing.and psychosexual Folie à deux Infatuation is cleverly used as a metaphor for the cult of personality between Varnam and Zubak. “They were born in pain, so they turn that pain into anger and use that anger as a cudgel,” says one of the few characters willing to criticize Varnum to his face. With Zubak, you can see this macro phenomenon unfold in miniature.
As Varnum’s paranoia deepens and she begins to lose control over her people, she puts more than just herself in danger. Human satellites revolve around her like the sun. Her husband Nicky (Guillaume Gallienne) is her happy appendage and one of the few people who knew Varnum before and after her political career. (Varnum’s descent into hypochondriacism and quack drugs is all the more shocking since the couple are both former doctors.) Her housekeeper and nanny, Agnes (Andrea Riseborough), is initially unfazed, but Varnum As a caretaker for her son, who has epilepsy, she soon begins to feel anxious. “The Regime” is most difficult to watch when it depicts people who, like Agnes and her young subordinate, are not passionately attached to Varnum out of her selfish ambitions or misguided beliefs. . Fortunately, Varnum completely insulates himself, so sympathetic struggles rarely intrude.
The first episode of “The Regime” will premiere on Sunday, March 3rd at 9pm ET on HBO and Max, with remaining episodes airing every Sunday.
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