The potentially engaging series 'Whirlpool' disappoints from the very start.

The other day, an article titled '5 Reasons to Watch the Series 'Whirlpool' was published on Kinopoisk, but after checking out the two episodes currently available, we concluded that this project is still not worth watching. Here are 5 reasons why you shouldn't.

Reason #1 — Unaesthetic 'Grimdark'

From the very first frames, viewers are made to understand that a grim and bloody show awaits them, with elements of ritual murders, dismemberment, and other maniacal feasts. But those same opening shots indicate that the series' production designers lack basic aesthetic taste and visual literacy, God forgive me. In a world where projects like 'Hannibal' and 'True Detective' existed, such a problem ideally shouldn't exist, but... Simply showing a naked corpse in the frame, pouring a gallon of fake blood, and drawing a bunch of symbols is not enough for such a shot to have any artistic value.

Reason #2 — Choppy Editing

The project's cinematographer, Vladimir Bashta, a very talented person in his field, for some reason decided that endlessly playing on the series' title 'Whirlpool' by rotating the camera clockwise would add flair to the image. No, it only causes dizziness. Moreover, repeatedly using the same technique clearly devalues it. And then there are those circles in every other scene...

And that's only half the trouble. The main problem is the choppy editing. Jerky transitions between scenes, clumsy and unnecessary slow-motion, spontaneous acceleration of camera fly-throughs — all of this is irritating and distracts from the narrative, rather than making it effective, as was obviously intended.

Reason #3 — Deliberate Dramaticism

The series 'Whirlpool' has several interesting characters with potentially interesting stories, take for example the character of Aristarkh Venes, a former junkie who has set out on the path to redemption (a clearly contrived but intriguing plot). Nevertheless, what stands out is the authors' excessive desire to show a rotten city where everyone has a terrible life. One man's wife is dying of cancer, and his teenage daughter makes everything worse with her behavior; another has an alcoholic wife; a third has a rapist stepfather. This list could go on endlessly.

It's understandable that each story individually has a right to exist, and in real life, even worse things sometimes happen, but when it all merges into a single cup of negativity, it not only looks unrealistic but also depresses you while watching. Excessive dramaticism in this case certainly does not benefit the story.

Reason #4 — Blatant Looking to the West

It seems that in 2020, looking to Hollywood and American TV series is sacrilege. Especially since we have long since learned to make distinctive and original projects ourselves. Even American streaming services are increasingly looking to the European market and its filmmakers for inspiration, rather than the other way around. But Andrey Stempkovsky, the screenwriter of 'Whirlpool', for some reason tries to create our answer to 'True Detective' and 'Gotham' (yes, the second series seems out of place in comparison, but how else to explain the total grimdarkness of the city in the project under review?!).

Of course, no one is saying that good references are evil. Far from it. But you can draw on favorite films or series much more subtly, not so clumsily. Moreover, in attempts at blind imitation, the local flavor is lost. The creators of 'To the Lake', for some reason, managed to quite decently combine elements of the conditional 'The Walking Dead' with their own vision of cinema and local peculiarities and shortcomings. The same cannot be said for 'Whirlpool'.

Reason #5 — Terrible Musical Score

The main problem with the Russian film industry, in our opinion, is the scripts. The second problem can safely be called the composers. The otherwise excellent series 'Exes' is ruined by a mediocre musical arrangement. Something similar is happening with 'Whirlpool'. The desire to use trendy youth songs is commendable, but their combination with instrumental accompaniment is so inept that it sharply spoils the overall impression.

The attempts to add epicness to every other frame through loud and sweeping music are also wildly irritating. If a character is riding a motorcycle, a composition must be added as if the character is heading to Valhalla, no less. If there are tears in the frame, a piercing tragic melody should play in the background, touching every string of the insensitive viewer's soul.

What's Good About the Series 'Whirlpool'

Despite all the described shortcomings, some of which can be attributed to subjective complaints, the project 'Whirlpool' has a number of positive aspects — solid acting, especially the 24-year-old Alena Mikhailova is pleasing, the atmosphere of a gloomy town rather than the already tiresome metropolitan setting, and potentially interesting characters. Which of all this is more important, each viewer will decide for themselves.

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