The Review, Part Deux--Netflix's Lupin is Back

 

First rule of successful plotting: always include a dog.

By Claire Booth

Back in February, I reviewed Lupin, a French thriller series that was showing on Netflix. That was five episodes of perfection that Netflix called Part 1. The next five installments (or Part 2) were released in June. And I’m delighted to say they were just as entertaining.

Omar Sy stars as Assane Diop, whose Senegalese immigrant father gets a job as chauffeur for a wealthy businessman. Things end badly, Assane grows up vowing revenge and sets out to accomplish it in the manner of his literary hero, the gentleman thief Arséne Lupin. I can’t say enough about Sy, who is perfectly cast. Suave with thievery, uncertain with his family; towering over everyone in size but able to use a lithe chameleon-ness to disappear. He makes it believable that he can bend circumstances to his will.

The story picks up right where it left off and races on from there. The problems get worse and the stakes get higher, which is as it should be in a thriller. The pacing, which I admired in Part 1, is substantially the same. The set pieces weren’t quite as jaw dropping as before (how can you top crashing a car into the Louvre?), but you do get a fun extended scene in another iconic Parisian location. I won’t spoil it by telling you which one. 

There are beautiful women over 40! Gasp!

I will divulge that the evil businessman’s daughter plays a bigger part in these episodes than she did in the first ones. This is a huge deal, but not for a plot reason. She’s gorgeous (see above), but she is also allowed to look her actual age. That’s 41. There’s even a streak of gray in her hair. And she’s the love interest. If this were an American show, it would be a 25-year-old who unrealistically captivates the hero. Clearly, the French have a thing or two to teach us about age-appropriate casting. (And fashion, and food, and . . . but I digress.)

Part 2 wraps up many but not all of the plot points. That’s no surprise—they have to leave some things for the next season. With something this successful, it’s almost certain that Netflix will give us one. 

This one does look like a superhero rip-off, I admit, but it's still pretty cool looking. One last thing: watch it in French with subtitles. You can switch out of the dubbed English in your Netflix settings. It's so much better in French.

 

Lupin—c'est fantastique

By Claire Booth

Netflix has been upping its global game lately, and I don't mean by exporting American entertainment to more and more places. I mean by exposing Americans to more and more international content. Hooray! 

I'm here today to enthusiastically endorse Lupin, the French limited series thriller that pays homage to the great French books of that name about a “gentleman thief.” It’s also suave, sexy, fun, and paced as well as anything I’ve seen in a long time. Sure, it sometimes stretches the bounds of plausibility, but what heist movie or book doesn’t?

Omar Sy stars as Assane Diop, whose father, a Senegalese immigrant, gets a job as chauffeur for a wealthy businessman. Things end badly, and Assane grows up vowing revenge. Not guns-blazing revenge; that’s not his style. Instead, he molds himself into the hero of his favorite childhood books, Arséne Lupin. (Tip for those who, like me, didn’t take French in high school: it’s pronounced Lou-PAN.) Lupin was the refined burglar and master of disguise who could solve any problem and steal any object.

Sy has been some English-language movies, including Jurassic World, and X-Men: Days of Future Past. The magnetic French native is truly at home here on the streets of Paris, whether it’s outside a tenement or in the courtyard of the Louvre. And I love that he’s of African descent. The casting of Sy adds a whole other rich layer to the show, with the problems of class and race that exist in French society. Plus, he’s perfect for the part – meticulous yet mischevious, and with a cat-burglar grace that not a lot of tall men can pull off.

The Arséne Lupin series by Maurice Leblanc, featuring the exploits of the “gentleman thief,” began in 1905 and lasted for 23 books. In other words, there’s plenty of material to inspire Sy’s character for many seasons to come. And based on Netflix’s assertion that more than 70 million people worldwide have at least started to stream an episode (which is more than even other hits like Tiger King or The Umbrella Academy), it seems likely the company will keep it going.

In fact, the second part of Season One (i.e. the other five-episodes of the ten that have been shot), will be released on Netflix sometime this summer, the streaming service said last week. Don’t wait that long to start. Watch it now. It’s perfect how’s-he-going-to-pull-it-off escapism for the dreary days of winter.

And don’t make the mistake I did. I just clicked play and it came through dubbed into English. Horrible. Bad voice acting in addition to the usual awfulness of the lips you see moving not matching the words you’re hearing. Switch to the French with subtitles. It’s less distracting that way, I swear. And more – how should I say? – l’original est magnifique.