Trailer for the series "Grisalda"/Netflix
In 2015, Netflix found a golden egg.
Around the character of Pablo Escobar, a larger-than-life story that needed very little help from the imagination, and the charismatic rising star Pedro Pascal, "Narcos" became in its first two seasons one of the network's most successful series, with spin-offs such as the third season and "Narcos" Mexico".
Eight years have passed, and the streaming giant decided to try to reproduce the success in a small way, when it recruited two of the creators, Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro, to upload "Griselda", a six-part mini-series starring Sofia Vergara.
Griselda Blanco may be a lesser-known name in the mainstream, but her role in shaping America's relationship with Colombia's cocaine was extremely significant. She was Escobar's mentor, and we get a significant mention of this in the opening quote attributed to him: "The scariest man I've ever met is wife.
Her name is Griselda Blanco." One small sentence that serves as a huge entrance gate to the series.
Escobar's role in the series begins and ends with this quote. Furthermore, he is not mentioned even once. It is assumed that this happened on purpose, in order not to diminish the image of the heroine in the slightest the main character and presenting her as a godmother (a nickname she bought with great effort) in her own right, and especially to convey a message of female empowerment, which is served with a golden spoon to the viewer. And somehow, despite this, it does not go down the throat.
The leaps in her character development are too big.
Sofia Vergara, "Grisalda"/Netflix
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Even before referring to the series itself, it is appropriate to shine a spotlight on Vergara's casting, which is intriguing and desirable but also problematic.
Intriguing, because even in "Modern Family", the biggest success in her not-so-illustrious career, she didn't get the status of a leading actress.
Necessary, since there is no more authentic choice than an actress of Colombian origin for such a role and Vergara has the required charisma to fill the role.
On the face of it, her extreme character as a comedic addition with a different and amusing accent on "Modern Family" is completely different from that of the ruthless drug baron, but in some ways Griselda is the perfecting of Gloria Delgado, a step up from harmless golddigger with pent-up rage to a particularly lethal Latina femme fatale .
Vergara fits the character well and usually manages to convince that she deserves the role, but it is not certain that the role deserves her.
"Grisalda" has a number of fundamental problems, the main of which is sticking to the facts.
Unlike "Narcos", at least in the first two seasons, there is almost no connection between the godmother's life story and the one in the series.
The plot is so different from reality that it could simply be called by a different name to completely disconnect it from the character and turn it into a fictional series.
Ironically, the one who gives expression to this absurdity is Vergara herself, through no fault of her own.
If in "Narcos" the production made an effort to make Wagner Mora as similar as possible to Escobar, here there is no connection between the real and the fictional character.
Seemingly, it is inappropriate to deal with external appearance, but it is impossible to escape the striking difference between Vergara and Griselda.
The need to produce female empowerment through a cool look is understandable, but this is definitely not Griselda, who not only was a more modern version of Ma Barker in her being, physically she also resembled her more.
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Not on the mustache alone.
From "Grisalda"/Netflix
Even big gaps can be easily closed with a good script.
Netflix relies on a formula that has worked well in the past.
Everything was there - drugs, an electrifying seventies atmosphere, knotty Latin men (in this case Alberto Guerra who also played in "Narcos Mexico" and Martin Rodrigues) and an impressive soundtrack - only all these come at the expense of the plot itself.
The script is full of holes and gaps, and here again we must return to the mother series.
While in "Narcos" the character of Escobar was built methodically and gradually, here the jumps in Griselda's development as a drug baron are too big and add to the lack of credibility and connection.
The more appropriate reference is not to "Narcos" but rather to "The Serpent", another Netflix series that revolves around the same timeline in a different part of the globe, with a crazy setting and an impressive set of clothing, women in bikinis and men with mustaches, but completely missed because of the script and editing.
"Grisalda" has gained popularity thanks to all the promising ingredients it has.
The promise was great, the ability to deliver a little less.
Due to its length, it is definitely watchable and helps relieve boredom, just don't expect an extraordinary emotional connection, to the series as a whole and to the main protagonist in particular.
All episodes of "Grisalda" are available on Netflix.
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Sofía Vergara