On October 19, Netflix, as usual, rolled out a full season of the new miniseries Bodies. This is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by Si Spencer from Vertigo. In the review below, we will tell you how the show tries to keep the viewer’s attention and how interesting it is to solve the mysteries offered by the plot together with the local characters.
London, 2023. Police Sergeant Shahara Hassan is chasing an armed teenager and comes across the body of a dead naked man in a Longarvest alley. The deceased has a scar on his forehead, a shot eye, and a strange mark, possibly a tattoo, on his wrist.
It is the turbulent year of 1941. Sergeant Charles Wightman, who looks more like a Hollywood star than a police detective, gets involved in a dubious scam involving a dead stranger whose body is found on Longarvest Lane. This is the same man that Hassan has found in the present day.
Victorian London in 1890. Inspector Alfred Gillinghead, an exemplary family man and diligent policeman, takes on the investigation of the murder of John Doe, of course.
But that’s not all. In the futuristic year 2053, Constable Iris Maplewood finds the body of a mysterious man in a notorious London alley. Obviously, all these strange events from completely different eras are somehow connected. Four detectives are plunged into a bizarre investigation into the murder of the same person. But this case is shrouded in many secrets that lead to the discovery of the terrible truth.
Netflix can be viewed in different ways, but for the second week in a row, the streaming service has been delivering high-quality series content. Last week, the platform turned to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and now viewers are offered a story that came from the pages of comics published by Vertigo, a division of DC Comics.
This is not the first film adaptation of Vertigo’s paintings. Suffice it to recall last year’s adaptation of The Sandman, which was also released on Netflix. So the authors of Bodies, headed by showrunner Paul Tomalin, approached the matter with the utmost seriousness and dedication.
Until at least the fifth episode, it is impossible to say for sure what the main mystery really is and what led to this course of events in the first place. Viewers are led to the climax gradually, with new details revealed step by step.
In addition, they do not shy away from shuffling not only different eras, but also genres. The narrative begins as a typical detective story, but with the advent of new timelines, the frame includes a love story, a historical drama, an equally dramatic noir line about revenge and redemption, and a sci-fi thriller that, as you might guess, will unfold in the future.
At some point, the plot reaches dialogues about the illusory nature of the obviously “matrix” choice, not to mention the sudden slam at the moment of the bullet fired from the gun. And the mysterious body turns out to be naked for a reason, just ask Kyle Reese.
Magically, the authors manage to design the visuals of different eras in a high-quality manner (here, perhaps, we can complain about the future, whose setting was for some reason bothered with the least enthusiasm). And also to distribute time and twists evenly for each of them. That is, the viewer should not have a desire to pay more attention to one timeline and be indifferent to the other.
If it’s London during the Second World War, then get ready for constant air raid warnings and Luftwaffe bombings. And if it’s a hypothetical future, then here’s an advanced neuroprosthesis and two voices at once. The first one, at home, will automatically inform you that “there is garlic, carrot sticks, and one jar of hummus in the fridge.” The second, on the street, in the best traditions of dystopia, will tell you about the principles of a utopian social order.
The actors are also in their places. I would especially like to single out Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, whose eccentric character strongly resembles Marvel’s Howard Stark, played by Dominic Cooper.
But no matter how much one character or another may argue that choice is just an illusion, it is extremely important to have someone close by when making fateful decisions.
In the case of Bodies. Netflix can definitely add the project to its assets. It’s interesting, suspenseful, and visually well-designed. But most importantly, the authors’ attempt to confuse the viewer really works. After all, while watching, there is a sincere desire to understand everything and find out who the naked one-eyed man is and where he came from.
