The Idol Episode 1 Review: Lily-Rose Depp, Abel Tesfaye’s Sex-and-Nudity Driven HBO Series is a Messy and Contradictory Critique Into Hollywood’s Exploitation of Fame (LatestLY Exclusive)

The Idol Series Premiere Review: To say the journey to the release of The Idol was controversial would be an understatement Having the original director booted off and then having Sam Levinson take over it completely and deliver this bumbling mess of a story, I had no idea what to expect going in – and even after seeing what I got, I still don’t know how to feel about it. On the one hand, The Idol is a condemnation of Hollywood's exploitative nature when it comes to shamelessly capitalising on a star’s sex appeal, but on the other, it revels in that exploitation, making this such a contradictory viewing experience. The Idol Episode 1 Review: Lily-Rose Depp, The Weeknd's 'Bizarre' Max Drama Series Has Netizens Disappointed, Criticise Sam Levinson's Writing.

Created by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and The Weeknd himself, The Idol follows the pop-star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) who after suffering a psychotic breakdown gets into a complicated relationship with a cult leader named Tedros (Abel Tesfaye). After being influenced (read... seduced) by him, Jocelyn decides to embark on a journey that sees her want to reclaim the title of being the biggest and the sexiest pop-star America has ever seen. The first episode primarily deals with Jocelyn having a very intimate photo of her leak onto the internet, while her PR tries to keep her at bay and work hard on the damage control.

If you're familiar with Levinson's work, you know there'll be a lot of sex and drugs, and that's pretty much what The Idol is. It has the dense substance of a concrete brick that has been painted to look appealing. There is a legitimate complaint to be made about how Hollywood is frequently exploitative of young and up-and-coming artists, but The Idol never acknowledges that and instead tells a story that feels like it was plucked from a Tumblr fanfiction board.

Sam Levinson's writing, particularly his dialogue, appears to have been created by someone who stopped maturing around the age of 14. “He is a bit rape-y,” exclaims Leia (Rachel Sennott) and Jocelyn replies “that’s what I like about him”! Like, who came up with this man? It simply wishes to retain a sleazy tone, and the cinematography reflects this. The Idol obviously feels like a story presented from a male perspective, which hampers the performances as well. Lily-Rose Depp, in particular, provides a stilted and wooden performance in which the camera can't help but try to objectify her, and is frequently eclipsed by her side characters, most of whom are an overprotective team of publicists. They were by far the episode's most entertaining aspects. The Idol: Sharon Stone Praises Lily Rose-Depp and The Weeknd’s HBO Drama (View Post).

Watch the Trailer for The Idol:

In that regard, The Weeknd is the worst offender of all. Abel, after his small stint in Uncut Gems demonstrates that he has hidden acting talent here and probably should have kept them hidden. He frequently feels like the caricature of an adolescent poster on r/iam14andthisisdeep. There is virtually no substance to the performances here, as imperfections in the acting are camouflaged behind glamour, nudity, and sex. The Idol is simply a contemporary story that has been told successfully in other films and series, and I'm not sure if there is more incentive to tune into the next episodes.

Yay!

The Side-Characters

Nay!

Contradictory Story

Dialogue is a Mess

Stilted Performances from the Leads

Final Thoughts

The Idol’s first episode is a complete mess. There isn’t much going on here and the contradictory story, along with the stilted performances of the leads, just doesn’t hold up with everything that the show is trying to critique. Overall, not sure if The Idol will be able to redeem itself here with the upcoming episodes. The series is streaming right now on JioCinema and on MAX where available.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2023 04:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).