Oh look, Guido Caprino is galloping across the countryside on the same horse on what appears to be a different day though the scenery and the weather are all suspiciously similar. That is what I found myself saying by episode four. I had lost count of these instances while watching Medici: Masters of Florence. Warning: a few vague spoilers ahead The show opens using the ancient device of flashbacks to tell the story of how Cosimo De' Medici learned the arts of politicking, deception, and supply chain management from his now dead father, artfully played by Dustin Hoffman who left his occasional dampness at home and brought his most refined Shylock with him. The problem is that this particular storytelling device is so clumsily introduced it is distracting instead of absorbing. This continues from episode to episode with varying degrees of success and relevance. I appreciate the writing of Nicholas Meyer who brought us The Prince of Egypt and Star Trek IV - "the one with the whales" but there is little fluidity to be found here. The real art of the show lies in its cinematography, costuming, and locale. Even the CGI is magnificent and it is clear that is where the budget went. A host of cultivated actors fill out the cast and do their best with a script that requires you believe that the 1400's were really fraught with hygiene, good teeth, and a Florence that has a population of 12 people - and those 12 move to Rome when it too needs a population. The wink and nod at Game of Thrones in episode two might make a few fans laugh or gawk at the screen for a moment but that moment then leads to a reminder that we are watching a TV show and not immersed in the rich history of one of the renaissance's finest, most ingenious, most insidious families that impacted the rule of kingdoms far flung and for generations to come. I will not nit pick at historical accuracy. These shows invariably reshape the story to make a point or to move the plot along and this is storytelling, not a history class. If you are taking these shows as gospel, then you are doing it wrong. If you are taking it as inspiration to learn more, you are doing it right. The best performances come from the often purse-lipped but quietly determined Annabel Scholey as Contessina "You can't rob Peter to pay...Peter", David Bamber who always is supremely cast as the complication - see BBC's Pride & Prejudice and try not to shift uncomfortably at his Mr. Collins - portraying Pope Eugenius IV, and Frances Barber as the glorious and devious Piccarda whose role leaves a lasting mark throughout the first season. Brian Cox embraces his supporting role as Guadagni with such subtlety that, although a big name, his presence adds depth rather than detracts from his scenes. Unfortunately, Lex Shrapnel, a standout in K-19 The Widowmaker, doesn't quite know what to do with his hands or his character. His gestures are stiff and awkward, sometimes dramatically holding a pose for a photographer that isn't there which works on stage but is jarring on screen. And, instead of demonstrating the internal struggle of a once good man twisted with his desire for revenge, he goes for all out deluded and irredeemable. Bad guys need to be just likable enough that their impetus, their struggle is something that can garner, even subconsciously, the audience's empathy - unless they're inexplicably and completely mad with evil. Shrapnel's Albizzi is sometimes smug, sometimes self-righteous, and quickly loses credibility. Warning: super-vague spoiler ahead: Richard Madden does what he can with a character that only seems to develop off-screen. Bad things happen "around" Cosimo not "because of" Cosimo. He doesn't appear to learn anything until much much later from his father's often blunt and brutal lessons and, in fact, doesn't seem to merit them anything more than a sad sideways glance and a shrug in the moment. His transformation is happenstance. His behavior toward Contessina is supposed to be explained in the flashbacks but slides back and forth from hot to cold in a manner that defies explanation. A sudden and completely forced change of character comes about mid season upon Cosimo's return home that leaves the viewer wondering just what the heck happened on that stretch of road between Venice and Florence because it sure didn't happen in the city of canals. By the end of the season, it seems like all the actors know where they need to be in their performances but Mr. Madden continues to bear the appearance of a young man in the clothes of an adult, both in form and in role. Whether this is the result of weak writing or weak directing or a combination, I'm unsure. Perhaps in season two he will have found his sea legs. Ultimately, the show is watchable and, in many places, very enjoyable. One cannot escape, however, the feeling that the viewer is being fed little pieces of digestible candy for story. There's an almost patronizing simplicity to the writing that removes the "vanishing point" and generates a two-dimensional result. Great actors can do a lot with very little and the very good actors here satisfy more than enough. Now let's watch Guido Caprino gallop across the same countryside on the same sunny day for the nineteenth time. That horse never gets tired.
Review of Medici
