Stories about the ups and downs of successful companies are one of the favorite themes in modern art. Even before cinema, inspiring books were written about this, pushing particularly reckless people to take risks. So Jared Leto took a risk, but fail...

How is success born? Through trial and error, testing one idea after another until you find something worthwhile. That's how the main character, Adam Neumann, first tried to start a business making shoes with foldable heels and knee-pad crawlers for babies, and then launched a co-working company called WeWork. But his co-working spaces have a special concept — a philosophy of conscious living that is supposed to change people's attitudes toward the world. In implementing this ambitious venture, he is helped by the not-so-confident architect Miguel and his main partner in life and business, Rebekah.

Apple TV+ streaming has long been trying to compete in the market with Netflix and HBO in terms of exclusives, releasing quite high-profile projects with star casts. And 'WeCrashed' became another series with high stakes, especially after the waning excitement over 'See' and modest criticism of the very expensive 'Foundation'.

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To adapt a story based on real events that took place between 2010 and 2019, the streaming service brought in the eternally youthful Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. And perhaps this was the project's main mistake. Or rather, just Jared in the role of Adam Neumann. Despite the external resemblance, Leto tries too hard to transform into the eccentric startup founder proving to the world that he is a 'golden goose laying eggs.' If in 'House of Gucci' his antics under a thick layer of makeup looked comical and artificial, partly due to the makeup, then in 'WeCrashed' it's hard to find an excuse for his cloying performance. Even Anne Hathaway, with all her merits and talent, is unable to single-handedly carry such a massive series from Apple.

And that's a shame. Because the story of creating a successful co-working company that conquered the world and then spectacularly failed and became unprofitable is extremely interesting. But the series' creators did not turn 'WeCrashed' into a workplace drama, focusing more on interpersonal relationships and delving into the worldview of Adam and Rebekah. We were shown that people were drawn to their energy like moths to a flame. And it was precisely Neumann's charisma and his art of persuasion that were the reason for the trust of financiers and investors, not WeWork's annual statistics.

An English proverb says that behind every great man there is a great woman — this message is particularly important for the series. Not only because Anne Hathaway handles her role much better than Jared Leto, but also because without Rebekah, there would be no Adam Neumann. We see a strong woman who, while helping her husband, remained in his shadow. Essentially, it's a reflection on self-realization, independence, and the division of roles in the 21st century (if not throughout human history). When, even having money and influence, you can miss your chance and fail to realize your potential.

But still, 'WeCrashed' is also a bit of the story of the company WeWork. The series devotes time to internal corporate ethics, communication culture, and employee attitudes toward the company. This allows us to peek behind the scenes and find out what was happening inside the hive while everything looked successful on the outside. We are shown crazy summer camps, endless parties, and entertainment, making it seem like no one works at WeWork. But there still isn't enough screen time to get to know individual employees better. There's too little of it even for Miguel, who launched the startup together with Adam.

Stories take off if they are told interestingly, but that, alas, is not the case with the series 'WeCrashed.' Although the showrunners tried. To mobilize interest, the viewer is first shown the moment of the main crisis, and then it rewinds 12 years back to the origins of WeWork. But somewhere along the way, the energy leaves the series, the events lose their brightness, and adding Jared Leto to this makes it even harder to watch. And even dynamic editing and frequent location changes do not add liveliness to the narrative. The tension that was established in the first episode disappeared by the middle and never returned, no matter how much Anne Hathaway called for helping the planet by launching her conscious projects.

In the end, Apple ended up with a project not about a multi-million dollar company, but about its creators — Adam and Rebekah. Or rather, about their love, enduring any adversity, which ultimately turned everything into a tragicomedy. 'WeCrashed' is a mediocre series from which, perhaps, a couple of episodes could be cut without losing meaning. The only things that please here are the stylish opening with a unicorn and the wonderful Anne Hathaway, whose consciousness we still want to believe in.