La Famiglia (2016)

It had the potential of a fun mafia series in itself: a small Italian merchant and his family, who run a local pizzeria as a cover for a criminal organization, suddenly have to deal with criminal settlements and family feuds. Traditional Dutch silliness with a pinch of 'Breaking Bad', about 'ordinary people' who out of necessity have to bumble through crime. Sweet Italian tearjerkers on the soundtrack and bright filters on the lens to add extra depth to the Dutch-Italian atmosphere. Even Joke Bruijs has been used for a portion of pre-war conviviality.

Yet the series never quite finds the right tone. It has the lovely character sketches of Maria Goos, in which men are huggable lobbies who really want the best for others, but are always confronted with brutal male codes and an ego that gets in the way. It has hard-hitting violence and pitch-black comedy. It is a family drama with a son who cheats with his uncle's ex-girlfriend and the daughter comes out as a lesbian. It also has a slapstick side with regular house guests and a good-looking police inspector who walks past the restaurant with his yobs.

The extremes - sociability and coldness - can only work with a strong script that gives a series something special and unique. And that doesn't work, because the mafia and Italian clichés are so thick on top that it feels more like an easy-going continuation of so many better productions. In addition, the season also feels too stretched around too little material to keep the tension in it. Certainly at the beginning, not all events, such as the murder of an important character, seem to influence the final confrontation that will eventually come. It is painful that you can see from everything that the makers were excited enough to make follow-up seasons, but that there is little chance that the production will get a sequel.

Translated from Dutch · View original