Few series can boast of being able to maintain top ratings on such well-known and reputable aggregator sites as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic for a long time. Such successful telesag includes the series “The Handmaid's Tale”. The MGM Television reviews are mostly admired, and starring Elizabeth Moss has already received the prestigious Emmy Award for her.
Novel "The Handmaid's Tale"
The series in question is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by one of the most famous modern English-speaking writers Margaret Atwood. For this dystopia in 1987, she was awarded the Arthur Clark Prize , the laureates of which are selected by a jury consisting of members of the British Science Fiction Association.
The novel talks about the world after a global catastrophe, in which a woman can be either a wife or a servant, or die while working on the processing of toxic waste. Moreover, for the “commoners” only the last two options are provided, since only a girl who is the daughter of a man with a high social status can become a wife.
Series
The show began in the U.S. in April 2017. At the moment, viewers have already seen 10 episodes, lasting 47-60 minutes.
Starring the series “The Handmaid's Tale” (reviews below) starred: Elizabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Madeleine Brewer, Joseph Fiennes, Alexis Bledel, O. T. Fagbenli, Max Mingella, Anne Dowd and Samira Wiley.
The project was produced by Bruce Miller, Fran Sears, Daniel Wilson and Warren Littlefield, and episode filming took place in Hamilton and Toronto from September 2016 to February 2017.
As a screenwriter, Margaret Atwood herself, who was assisted by Elizabeth Moss, was involved in the work on the first season of the series.
Summary of the first season
In the Republic of Gilead, formed in the United States after a global catastrophe, a sect came to power that decided to deprive women of all rights. They were dismissed from work, even forbidden to study the account and the letter, bank cards were selected. Of course, there were protesters, but they were shot so that others would not even have thoughts of resistance. At the same time, the ruling elite attached decency to its policy towards citizens, reinforcing it with perverse quotes from the Bible.
Like other girls and women living in the republic, June Ozborn became a victim of the new state system. She was separated from her young daughter and sent to a servant training center. There she was assigned to the family of Commander Fred Waterford. Since the owner’s spouse, like other ladies of the privileged class, is not capable of childbearing, June should give him an heir. However, Miss Waterford is confident that her husband is infertile and offers the girl to get pregnant from another man, keeping all this a secret. Meanwhile, Mexican ambassadors are arriving in the country. The government of Gilead seeks to show its “new orders” in the best possible light. At first, June agrees to play along with his masters, but then he tells the whole truth.
Soon, the girl learns about the underground organization of the handmaids. She is given the task of picking up a parcel from a brothel in Boston, to which her owner sometimes takes her, demanding that she first make up with forbidden makeup and change into “sinful” clothes.
In the last episode of the series, June finds out that she became pregnant from the commander, and the viewer can only wait until the new season begins to find out how things will develop further.
Elizabeth Moss
In the series “The Handmaid's Tale”, reviews of which help to get an idea of the plot even for those who have not yet watched the picture, the actress got the main role of June Ozborn or Fredova. The last nickname for the plot of the picture is given to the maidservants by the name of the master, to make them faceless and subordinate them even more to the owners.
Judging by the reviews of critics, the actress brilliantly coped with her role and many viewers claim that they are watching the series because of Elizabeth Moss.
Joseph Fiennes
This famous British actor has become another decoration of the series “The Handmaid's Tale”. It was to him that the creators of the television project entrusted the role of commander Fred Waterford. According to critics, he managed to show how miserable a person who is deprived of tenderness and love will be. Although the hero of Fiennes is one of the privileged citizens, he has practically no joy in his life, apart from the rare “forays” into the brothel, where he drags the maid, after forcing her to put on makeup and get rid of a decent uniform.
Yvonne Strahovski
This actress is much less known to moviegoers than Moss or Fiennes, however, she no less successfully coped with her role as the commander’s wife in the series “The Handmaid's Tale”. Her heroine, although at the top of the hierarchical staircase of the Republic of Gaalad, is no less unhappy than her servant. After all, fate had prepared for her the role of a barren wife, who was absolutely not interested in her husband and should spend all days locked up in her golden cage. The only entertainment in life such as Mrs. Waterford is visiting other wives and being present at childbirth. The reviews about the actors of the series “The Handmaid's Tale” about the game Yvonne Strakhovsky say a lot of flattering words, as the viewers who read the novel consider the image created by her more interesting and deep than the literary original.
Story Reviews
As expected, the telesaga sounded women for the living. Despite the fact that in developed countries, feminism has achieved great success, it is still impossible to talk about the absence of gender discrimination. The situation with surrogate motherhood is especially humiliating, when women allegedly voluntarily, and in the vast majority of cases due to circumstances, become incubators for bearing other people's infants.
Especially interesting are the reviews about the plot of the series “The Handmaid's Tale”, sponsored by the Americans. For them, the storyline associated with fleeing to Canada and closed borders has recently ceased to be an abstract fantasy.
By the way, it was the script of the television series that was most criticized by the audience, since many people think that it is not clear what the “lower classes” are doing and why the hierarchy has not been organized among the maidservants.
The series "The Handmaid's Tale": reviews of viewers
Most often, those who read Margaret Atwood's book express their opinion about this telesag. As a rule, such reviews are positive and they highly appreciate the work of the actors, first of all, Elizabeth Moss. According to fans of the writer, the actress is ideally suited for the role of Fredova and very convincingly plays a girl deprived of any life choice.
Viewers also appreciated the work of costumers, who were able, using color schemes, to convey the division of society into distinctive “castes” by gender and ability to bear children.
As for the negative reviews about the series “The Handmaid's Tale”, they mostly relate to the content of the novel. For example, some viewers are perplexed about why the authors show only one man “from the simple ones” (the commander’s driver) and don’t tell anything about the lives of people like him.
What critics say
Other reviews about the series “The Handmaid's Tale” were not long in coming. Critics also expressed an opinion.
As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, the telescope was immediately received by experts with a bang. According to 42 critics, his average freshness score on Rotten Tomatoes was 9.1 out of 10. The reviews feature expressions such as “catchy and vivid series”, “infinitely fascinating adaptation”, etc. In the final Metacritic rating, which is based on 33 critics' reviews, “The Handmaid's Tale” is named universally recognized.
Specialists especially note the excellent acting, especially Elizabeth Moss. In addition, positive reviews about the series “The Handmaid's Tale” relate to the color aesthetics of the film and the excellent camera work. According to many critics, the series was shot beautifully and efficiently. Successful close-ups and synchronized walking of figures dressed in red hoodies are especially noted.
Now you know what is being told in the telesague of the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. Reviews of the film "The Handmaid's Tale", a series shot at MGM Television, unanimously recommend it for viewing, especially since not only the original, but also the Russian-language version of the picture is available on the Web.