On May 9, Netflix released a detective thriller with elements of black comedy «Bodkin», which consists of 7 episodes instead of the usual 8. Among others, the show was also produced by Higher Ground Productions, a company run by former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. In the review below, we tell you how witty the local comedy was, how suspenseful the thriller was, and how mysterious the detective was.
Pluses:
In the early stages, the story is intriguing; a pleasant vibe of narrow Irish streets and infinitely beautiful island landscapes
Minuses:
terribly overloaded story with unnecessary things; lazy acting; the series does not work as a genre product (comedy does not make you laugh, thriller does not cause the necessary tension, and detective does not impress)
«Bodkin»
Genre thriller, detective, comedy
Author Jez Scharf
Starring Will Forte, Siobhan Cullen, Robin Cara, David Wilmot, Chris Wally
Premiere Netflix
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb
The Guardian journalist Dove, always dissatisfied with everything, is sent by her editor to the godforsaken Irish town of Bodkin, where three people mysteriously disappeared on Samhain several decades ago. Dove must join the popular American podcaster Gilbert Power and his assistant Emma Seaserg, who plan to gather material about this shrouded mystery for their next episode.
But upon arrival, the heroes realize that the seemingly friendly inhabitants of Bodkin have something to hide. Thus, their lighthearted adventure, almost a vacation designed to enrich the content for your internet, turns into a high-stakes investigation full of intrigue. In addition to the hapless podcasters, it will involve the Irish mafia, a Romanian taxi driver, Interpol, local nuns, and even eel sellers (it’s unagi, right, Ross Geller?).
Of course, «Bodkin» is not the first project to feature true crime podcasts and a few crazy characters chasing criminal sensations. We can mention the hit «Only Murders in the Building» with comedy stars Martin Short and Steve Martin, as well as last year’s «Based on a True Story», in which Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina took the microphone. Interestingly, all of these series had three main characters. Only «Bodkin» looks the least exciting among them, not to mention the obviously more modest cast.
The problem with this show is that it offers very few interesting things, i.e., effective twists for its long running time, and is uselessly sprayed on some unnecessary and secondary things.
At the beginning, there is some intrigue, but the further the case of avid podcasters progresses, the less interesting the local mystery seems. This is because there are completely unnecessary arcs that only drag out time and distract attention from the main thing. For example, hints of love affairs or the presence of the mafia are completely unfounded because they are not properly developed. Does anyone really care that, despite numerous attempts, something always prevents the two characters from kissing?
The main storyline stretches out like chewing gum; in principle, this is how any typical Netflix product can be characterized, which is what this series turns out to be. When you marinate for a long time while watching, when some crumbs are thrown at you on the way to unraveling this bizarre tangle (a car found in the swamp with surprises — not bad, a soap opera twist of the caliber «I’m your father, Sean» — shame!), by the climax you lose any desire to figure out what happened in that damn Bodkin and how this masquerade will end.
It’s hard to get a good laugh here, since the show is also billed as a comedy (black comedy, in particular). Either the humor is too British or its authors lack comedic ingenuity, but there is no real fun in the plot.
Will Forte, who last year portrayed a complete idiot in Dog Madness «Strays». He is far from being a frivolous fool and looks completely aloof, constantly dictating pseudo-philosophical nonsense into his dictaphone. His character evokes sincere indifference.
The Irish actress Siobhan Cullen’s character can also not claim an audience response. It’s better to throw such characters in the trash at the stage of writing the script, Dove turned out to be such an unpleasant aunt. The only memorable character is the stern, bearded man played by David Wilmot.
«Bodkin» too overloaded with unnecessary storylines, characters, dialogues. As the unlucky podcaster Gilbert Power says, screenwriters never tire of repeating that a good story has a crucial function. But for some reason, they themselves forget this simple truth.
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