The Idol, the new upcoming HBO TV series is eagerly awaited by the public. This product, in fact, will mark the debut in the world of acting of the Canadian singer-songwriter Abel Makkonen Tesfayeknown under the pseudonym of The Weeknd. But what arouses the curiosity of the spectators is above all the mind behind the series: Sam Levinson. In the last few years scandalized the audience with the drama Euphoria, which often showed scandalous scenes involving substance abuse and nude sequences. Con The Idol however, he may have raised the bar of his provocations even further. In March, some members of the production accused Levinson of going a little further and creating a “disturbing and offensive” series. While Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd had dismissed these allegations, I suspect that The Idol could be a bit extreme was remained. For this reason, everyone was curious about how it would be received at the Cannes Film Festival.
Yesterday premiered the first two episodes of The Idolwhich scandalized the Festival audience.
For the first time a TV series officially debuted at the prestigious event last May 22 in a room packed with spectators. At the heart of the story of The Idol there is Jocelyn, a young pop star who is going through a psychotic break after the death of her mother. While a bunch of manipulators are scrambling to get her to record a new album and send her on tour, ends up in Tedros’ trap. The man, a spiritual guru and cult leader, begins an unhealthy relationship with her. The control of young female artists by record companies, revenge porn and the sexualization of pop stars will all be themes that will be addressed in the show. These are the first plot details to emerge from the screening of the first few episodes. But how was it received? The Idol by the audience of the Cannes Film Festival? Viewers reportedly gave Sam Levinson’s product a five-minute standing ovation.
If the reaction in theaters was extremely positive, on the Internet some of the people who attended the premiere commented mercilessly on the episodes. Many didn’t like it the exaggerated presence of nudity and intimate sequences that would be even more extreme than what HBO has accustomed us to in the past. The columnist of the New York Times Kyle Buchanan because of this he compared in a tweet the series a Fifty Shades of Gray. There are those who hated it, but also those who appreciated it: this is the case of the journalist Tatiana Siegel who assured that Sam Levinson fans will not be disappointed. The most interesting comment he received The Idol but it is that of the editor Eric Kohnwhich in a tweet he compared it to other illustrious cinematographic and serial products. In fact, she said:
“Yes, THE IDOL has the EUPHORIA vibes one might expect, but really it’s more like someone put BLACK SWAN, SUCCESSION and SECRETARY in a blender and mixed them. By the way, this thing doesn’t put him on the level of any of these!”
