There’s a lot working against Amazon Prime’s new fantasy series Carnival Row.
The trailers, while visually stunning, have been fairly pedestrian and way too familiar. Series stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne haven’t had commercial success in quite some time despite their ever-present social media and gossip mag celebrity. Finally, the advanced critical word was not strong, and in the realm of fantasy shows the hype seems to be heaped upon the shoulders of HBO’s Dark Material series.
To be perfectly honest, the show does not help itself within the first 10-15 minutes either. The show kicks off with a hyper-violent, hyper-predictable string of sequences involve refugees dying while attempting to cross a border, and while trying to make passage to freedom via a smuggler’s ship. The parallels to today’s current political climate are obvious, and heavy-handed. The execution is mundane and has been done better in better films.
Needless to say, this inauspicious opening combined with a severe lack of hype and hope, is enough to tune any viewer away from Carnival Row.
However, that would be a mistake.
Business immediately picks up for the series when it drops viewers in the Burghe, the metropolitan city the series where Carnival Row is located. The world building of this city is breathtaking — deftly blending the fantasy world with a gritty, seedy turn of the century basin of sex, and violence. In the same vein we see the fantasy narrative get woven into multiple storylines revolving around serial killers, murderous conspiracies, political machinations, race and class politics, and a love story — all wrapped in noir blanket. Simply put, this way more ambitious and layered than you’d expect, and that’s a good thing.
Orlando Bloom is not the most obvious choice to play a grizzled war veteran turned hardened police inspector. Had this series come out a few years ago this role could’ve easily gone to someone like Clive Owen. However, Bloom does a nice job of conveying the angst and scars that haunt his character. His patented (and criticized) serious, whispery tone of voice works to his advantage putting the exclamation point on this wounded character.
Cara Delevingne also rises to the occasion in her scenes proving she’s way better than the underwhelming big budget disappoints she’s been cast in. She adds nice flairs of grit and intensity to a role that could easily be one-dimensional. The chemistry she and Bloom have in instantaneous and after the premiere episode you are left wanting more.
Carnival Row, especially in its premiere episode, overcomes its weaknesses, and bad press by delivering an episode filled with wondrous world building and better than advertised performances. Given the dearth of new, interesting programming in early September, definitely give this series a shot.
Carnival Row is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
