In 2016, the Indian government supposedly took a historic step by demonetizing the 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes, forcing the entire population to surrender their paper currency to banks. Apparently, this was intended to wipe out the counterfeiting industry, thus putting an end to all sorts of terrorist and similar activities. The government probably hoped there would be a huge difference between the number of banknotes in circulation and the amount deposited in banks, as this would allow them to claim victory in the fight against counterfeiting.
In reality, that difference turned out to be minuscule. Years later, it was reported that the newly printed banknotes had already been counterfeited because they were easier to duplicate than the old ones. This is just a brief summary of what happened during that time. If you consider the media coverage and public reactions, you'll understand that this is a story worth immortalizing through the power of entertainment. Bollywood made Choked and Farzi, but they were disasters. I assumed stories about the war on counterfeiting couldn't get any worse. Franklin has proven me wrong.
Stars: Adam Sejary, Daniella Rahme, Mohamad Al-Ahmad
Hussein Al Minibawi's Franklin, written by Chirine Khoury, tells the story of Adam, a generational counterfeiter of $100 bills because his father, Mounir, used to do the same. Mounir was supposedly betrayed by a notorious crime boss, Al-Hashem, and Adam was betrayed by another notorious boss, Edward. So they both decided to leave it all behind in search of a simpler, crime-free life. But with Mounir's health deteriorating, as well as that of Adam's daughter, Yara, the bills have started piling up. So, Adam decides to go back to work making the perfect $100 bill.
Edward notices this and sends his daughter, Yulia, Adam's ex-girlfriend and fellow counterfeiter, to explain why he's returned to this business and if there's any way to get a large sum out of him. Al-Hashem also learns of Adam's return and tasks him with raising $35 million in two weeks; otherwise, he'll have to watch his family die. Since Adam is overworked and underpaid, he doesn't question Yulia's return to his life, and they work together, even though they know Edward or Al-Hashem will betray them... again. And the only one who can stop these illegal deals is police officer Zein, an expert in intercepting financial frauds.
Although Franklin's premise seems simple enough, it isn't at all. The strange thing is that the series is confusing for entirely the wrong reasons. I mean, Khoury kept playing this strange game of introducing too many elements, vaguely explaining backstories, and expecting the audience to fill in the blanks. Why? Why would you do that? I don't know if this is a spoiler, but you've been warned. So, apparently, a lot happened in the lives of Adam, Zein, Mounir, and Al-Hashem between, I guess, the 1980s and 2014. And then a lot more happened between 2014 and 2022, with the arrival of Edward and Yulia.
All of that—and I mean all of that—was briefly explored. However, because the emotional impact of everything unfolding in the present depended heavily on what happened in the past, which, by the way, had barely been mentioned, the overall effect of the characters and their decisions rang hollow. I have no idea why. I suppose Khoury forgot to detail those stories, or perhaps he wrote everything down in great detail, but then Minibawi simply forgot to film anything. Right? Well, at this point, your guess is as good as mine.
Credit must be given where credit is due: director Minibawi, director of photography Quim Miquel, editor Ahmed Assem, costume designer Yasim Saleh, production designer Faten Dabbous, composer Ashraf El Zeftawi, music editor Mohamed Amin, sound engineer Samer Al Saiidi, sound designer Amer Essam Asad, colorist Mahmoud Ali, and everyone in the technical departments worked hard. They made good use of the budget allocated for Franklin. But unfortunately, there's a huge gap between doing a lot and doing something efficiently, and the entire team fell (metaphorically speaking) into it.
If I recall correctly, the series had two high-speed car chase sequences. They looked dangerous. They were supposed to be thrilling and adrenaline-filled. The stunts looked real and authentic. However, the end result was simply forgettable. Again, what's the excuse? I don't know. In the past, television series were given free rein to disappointing action because they didn't have the resources that films did. Today, many series on all platforms are matching the films. So, in this age of entertainment, such mediocre work is unacceptable. I suppose if the dialogue, tone, pacing, visual storytelling, and all the non-action scenes were competent, I wouldn't have noticed the flaws in those extravagant scenes. Since they weren't, here I am ranting.
Mohammed Al Ahmad, Daniella Rahme, Tony Issa, Pierre Dagher, Youssef Haddad, Georges Chalhoub, Fayez Kazak, Sandybelle Khachab, and the rest of the cast of Franklin were fine. I mean, what could they have done to improve the material they were given? Even if you had hired some of the best actors and actresses in the world to dare to write that script, they probably would have given up in the first 20 minutes. So, kudos to this group for not only finishing the script, but also for committing to their respective characters until the final episode.
I think it will be very interesting to hear them explain what the show was really about, beyond the superficial. Anyone could say it's about counterfeit money. But what is its perspective on human nature, crime, law enforcement, politics, fatherhood, motherhood, love, etc.? Is this something new or is it just more of the same? Or is it so muddled with its own plot machinations that it's forgotten to talk about anything other than the fact that counterfeit money exists? I don't know, and at this point, I don't care. By the way, if you're interested in watching something centered around counterfeit money that's actually good, I recommend John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow"; it's a classic.
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