Vladimir

Julia May Jonas brings her debut novel, Vladimir, to the small screen with this binge-worthy adaptation, headed by the fantastic Rachel Weisz. The result is a blackly comic, if ideologically grey, look at what it means to be a woman of a certain age in a post-MeToo world. 

As the (possibly unreliable) narrator, the series opens with the mysteriously monikered M (Weisz) lamenting that she no longer appeals to the male gaze. An English professor, she is married to fellow academic John (played by Mad Men’s John Slattery), who is notorious across campus for his affairs with students, leading to his suspension and the ensuing gossip surrounding it. But M just might get her spark back thanks to young, married assistant professor Vladimir (Leo Woodall).

Weisz is equal parts funny and devastating as she flits between witty observations on marriage and academia and crushing self-loathing. It’s, however, somewhat hard to believe that Weisz, who still maintains that youthful, full-faced glow of The Mummy, has become invisible in society (the fact that she is seemingly ageless is what’s most striking when the series opens). M has regressive views on gender roles, lamenting a time in which women could submit to the advances of older men without deeming it an abuse of power. This regressive tendency is, perhaps, the cause of her internalised ageism and misogyny (a group of concerned Gen-Z students assure her that she is “hot” and deserving of much more than John). But one can’t help but feel that the writing reinforces fatalistic notions of middle-aged womanhood, rather than challenging them.

Power is a central theme: it’s something that M is obsessed with. We’re asked to ponder whether she genuinely likes Vladimir, or whether this desire is the result of him being a younger man who shows interest, thereby enabling her to wield the sort of power her husband has over his co-ed exploits. Then, there’s another, less cynical way of looking at it: the seldom-explored matter of 50-something women continuing to have sexual urges. One would hope it’s the latter, otherwise it risks succumbing to the same regressive tropes echoed by M.

Nevertheless, Weisz is a charming lead who undoubtedly carries the series. Though Vladimir may not be for those grappling with their own age-related existential crisis, a razor-sharp script makes for an entertaining take on midlife lust and transgression.