I'm not one to dismiss something I don't like easily. I look at it with a fresh perspective or see what might interest someone else before saying, "No, this isn't for everyone." But when I come across a series like Aniela, my patience runs thin. Aniela may have its positive aspects. Well, I suppose if you understand the language, it might be a little more understandable, but overall, I couldn't connect with the plot at all.
In the eight-episode series, the main character is a middle-aged woman whose husband suddenly leaves her for another woman; no, she's not younger or prettier; apparently, he's been searching for her all his life. Or something like that. What follows is a strange turn of events, so convoluted that it will bore you more than anything else. Sure, it's fun to have things develop slowly and to have mysterious characters you know nothing about. But in this case, none of the decisions seem to have been made with any real substance in mind.
Stars: Malgorzata Kozuchowska, Cezary Pazura, Gabriela Muskala
Before I explain why the show is so complicated, I want to mention that the rap is pretty good, and even though I don't know a thing about Polish rap, this definitely piques my curiosity, and I think it's one of the show's main draws. On the other hand, I suppose it's supposed to be a feminist story about identity, wealth, and the interplay between the two, but the purpose is lost long before the show concludes its final act. Honestly, I was left counting the minutes until it was over. And don't get me wrong, you might want to call me stupid for not liking a complicated story, but if something is so disconnected, anyone is bound to feel at least a little annoyed, or even abandon the show altogether. If I'd had that chance, I would have done it without hesitation.
Clearly, feminism is also one of the many themes the series wants to tackle: the protagonist is abandoned by her husband, abused by other men in her life, and unsure how to make her way because she's always been controlled. It's all there, but there's more, and it's simply too much. That said, everything is still superficial, and nothing clicks for more than five minutes before the plot changes, a character gets lost, or something new emerges. Yes, we ask for more complex plots, but we're talking about the very essence, not the original idea.
The main point of Aniela is that its plot is character-driven. It's a show that focuses exclusively on the main character, so why does it try to involve so many other elements? The character's arc seems to emerge out of nowhere, and nothing seems well explained. No, I'm not asking for everything done, but at least help us understand why she's so eager to do this or meet that person. It was almost like watching a show halfway through, never understanding what really happened. The real problem is that the show is so disjointed that even if you could connect the dots at some point, they're stolen from you and then never returned.
Malgorzata Kozuchowska seems like a veteran actress who knows what she's doing, but she's useless because the series doesn't deserve her presence or her style; it just exists because it has to. I must admit that some of her outfits are great, and the signature fur coat is a nice touch, if a bit dated. I hope it's fake, or maybe vintage would be better, but I digress. The young actresses seem to have talent mainly because of their rapping. As for the acting, they mostly just aim to stun and confuse, and they do that quite well, so it's fine.
Aniela is full of profanity, and there's one sex scene that feels so redundant it won't even bother you. I guess Polish rapping focuses on swearing, but it definitely feels overdone after a while. Visually, the series seems destined to be a heist thriller or something, with its muted tones and color grading that highlights the protagonist's white hair and orange lips. It's nowhere near as mysterious or exciting as it seems. In fact, I don't even know what genre it's supposed to be. If it's a comedy, then it fails miserably. I guess you could call it a midlife coming-of-age story and get away with it. There's some drama, some action, some comedy, and a lot of rap.
The series relies heavily on making us care about this disjointed nature it tries to possess. Honestly, I found this to be a mistake. The series is only eight episodes long, each about 35 to 40 minutes long, with a 10-minute credits period, yet it somehow feels much longer and more drawn out. I was so bored that I couldn't even watch the series in its original language because I was worried it would use not understanding the language to bore me enough to fall asleep. The dubbing is fine to watch in the background, but the rapping is in the original language (which is a good thing in my opinion) with full subtitles. At the end of the day, this series feels like an abuse of the senses, so I wouldn't recommend it. I would give Aniela 2 out of 5 stars.
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