What I noticed about Vladimir is that it seems on the surface like a married older woman becoming obsessed with a younger married man who is clearly interested. But the intro scene suggests something darker, her awkwardness in normal situations seems suggestive of something we’re missing, and the fact that she starts replaying small scenarios -like clips of an idea- the way any writer might, before we see her writing, had me wondering.
Vladimir becomes her muse. And his response to her almost seems deliberate, like maybe he wants her because she’s already a famous author and that’s what he wants to be. It’s the strangest story I’ve watched in a while. A little confusing but always compelling.
However, I almost felt a little let down at the end -the feeling that the real world and her imagination had collided and became one, felt rushed.
As a series, I enjoyed it and as a result I’m thinking about reading the novel, because I’d really like to see what the series left out.
And speaking of new things to read, I’ve also spotted…
Hannibal
How do we feel about a Hannibal Lector biography? Well, I’ll be reading it for sure. With unseen materials and exclusive interviews with Brian Cox, John Douglas, and more. This book looks at Hannibal’s beginnings and the journey he’s taken us on, as well as the untold life and career of Thomas Harris.
Hannibal Lecter by Brian Raftery is on my tbr already, and I can’t wait to dive in.
A book that not only tells us about the author but also their greatest (in my opinion) character. A character everyone knows of, even if that kind of story isn’t for them is worth curling up with, what can I learn from those pages? Hannibal Lector -from Silence of the Lambs to the Hannibal TV series- has always been a favourite, the kind of character that just lingers. The stories speak to a particular part of the brain…
The Lizard Brain
The thing you don’t know about the weaver stance is that you must both push and pull the weapon when firing. Or to slow a vehicle when the breaks stop working, you can shift down gears. These are things I’ve learnt from novels, and one of them I’ve had to use to prevent an accident.
A story allows us to experience something we might never experience or have never experienced before in our normal lives, and it has the ability to show us how we would react or behave in the same situation. Our brains don’t know the difference between a good immersive story and an experience we are having. It can learn from both. But only if story can brush up alongside the lizard brain, and pattern disrupt. As Catherine Tramel (Basic Instinct) might say, you need the reader or viewer to suspend their disbelief.
True crime fascinates us because the stories always begin with setting the scene, the same way any warning story has ever been told, off the back of something you already know to be true. And a good movie or novel, works quickly to immerse you in a world. We learn from story. We remember through story. And we share stories to teach -some are better at it than others. And if I tell you it’s nothing more than normal equilibrium, bad thing, getting over the bad thing, new equilibrium, but with a little skilful seasoning, would you believe me?
The stories I’ve been seeing lately have been bugging me. I’ve sat down to watch movies and shows that in the trailers look like they’re going to be amazing, and I put them on and they look the same, but the story lets them down. At first, I didn’t notice. I couldn’t work out why I wasn’t getting engrossed in these amazing looking movies or series, novels with great blurbs but that I needed to dnf.
And it is because the story doesn’t take us into the world, and give us a reason to stay. Repeatedly. And it’s not about repeating the purpose of the story at key moments -as a certain recent movie was told to do- it’s about breaking the barrier to the lizard brain.
I think that’s why everyone is talking about authenticity. Because that’s where the real stories are. It doesn’t matter what world the story you’re telling is set in -dragons, space, the future- if you’re telling a real human story.
What is at the core, what are you trying to share?
Give me stories that grab me by the eyeballs, pull me in, and give me an immersive experience throughout.
Writer, reviewer, and occasional chaos-collector -the kind who laughs through the plot twists and finds magic in the strange corners of storytelling. I explore films, stories, and the wonderfully weird… and yes, moths are still my sworn enemies.
