"Whirlpool" from "KinoPoisk HD" is not like other TV series about the police. And this is good

Grotesque heroes and neon lights

Literally from the very first shots, it is striking that the viewer is shown not a typical Russia, but rather some kind of fictional world. The authors do not even say in which city the action takes place. And the main characters are altogether similar to comic book characters or American action films, rather than typical Russian policemen.

Vladimir Vdovichenkov in the image of the stern but fair Krasnov, as always, is meaningfully and gloomily silent - he was clearly entrusted to act out the image from "True Detective". Vladislav Abashin, aka Kirill, suddenly turns out to be the main expert on occultism and religions. He got all the most mystical lines, which perfectly suits the deep voice of the actor.

Aristarchus Venes, who plays the youngest and most emotional in Mark's team, is responsible for emotions: he cries, swears a lot, cuts through the streets on a cool motorcycle and carries a pistol in the back pocket of his jeans.

The rest of the policemen live in well-furnished apartments, drive an expensive car, drink whiskey in a clean and bright office right during the service.

Those who want to see in "Whirlpool" at least some hint of the real work of the Russian police will be disappointed at the fifth minute. But surely there are many viewers who are already tired of the endless "Cops" and "Destructive Force". Such a comic video sequence allows you to perceive the series as a work of art, and not just another attempt to film the gray everyday life that everyone can already see outside the window.

Unfortunately, the authors go too far in some moments, and in others they do not work out enough. Some of the main problems of Russian TV series have not disappeared anywhere: secondary characters and background conditions. If the main characters can overact a little, but still cope with their roles, then it is simply painful to watch the crowd scene, boringly practicing their actions. And the habitable premises are not given to decorators at all: a cold pavilion is felt everywhere.

But in general, the video sequence turned out to be very good. You can already completely forget about boring filming in three locations. "Whirlpool" pleases with the camera spans over the city, and general plans, and many different rooms.

But the neon lights could be made in less than three times. Even in the previous advertised series "Hope", they annoyed with their obsession. "Whirlpool" floods everything with this light, as if trying to prove its modernity and youthfulness. Alas, this causes exactly the opposite sensations.

Cruelty and sociality

It's no secret that authors can afford much more on streaming services than in movies, and even more so on television. Whirlpool makes the most of this format. And it's not even about cruelty, swearing and naked bodies, although this is enough in the series.

Interestingly, Kinopoisk HD offers a choice of two audio tracks: with and without censorship. Indeed, someone may be embarrassed by the abuse in the project, where in the first minutes a naked girl is killed with a knife?

But all these are just games of provocation, which with the existing HBO is unlikely to catch anyone. But what "Whirlpool" really amazes with is the abundance of ambiguous social statements.

Just look at the main characters. Krasnov's wife is dying of cancer, and he is having an affair with a colleague. The new girlfriend is fighting back with all her might from his uninvited male protection. Mark is a former drug addict who goes to meetings. And these are the most positive characters.

What about the disgusting drug pimp trafficking in minors? It turns out that such a person can have a disabled mother, whom he cares about touchingly.

But the toughest talk is about dysfunctional families and domestic violence. In this topic, the heroine, nicknamed the Fly (Alena Mikhailova), is revealed. It is unlikely that many on-air TV channels dare to show in the series how the stepfather rudely solicits his stepdaughter. And this is not the first time this happens with the complete connivance of others. And in the background is the song "Be quiet" by the group "Kis-Kis" - a manifesto of problems that are so fond of being hushed up in our society.

At this moment, the shiny comic book wrapper breaks with a bang, revealing our reality. Most recently, the court acquitted “Just freaked out”: in Tatarstan, the court acquitted a man who was accused of abusing the one and a half year old daughter of a man who raped his own one and a half year old daughter. And this with the regular real terms "I will kill you now, bitch." Most women convicted of murder defended themselves from domestic violence to girls for self-defense and decriminalizing the domestic violence article.

Through the lips of the same Mark, the viewer is told about the bullying of parents in families, about children who use drugs, because they have not seen anything else in their life.

Against the background of the caution of most films and TV series, which so love to concentrate evil in one maniac, "Whirlpool" surprises with its frankness. It turns out that the main problem is not the terrible occultist. He can do his atrocities only because no one is looking for hundreds of teenagers.

This is all a fictional world. But it is hard not to remember that the number of real street children in our country is growing every year. And the brave policeman who caught the maniac will save some of them from death. But from the street and drug addiction - hardly.

Of course, the authors really lack the subtlety of elaboration. Most of the ideas are stated head-on, without any artistry. Few people now dare to say directly from the screen that religion has very little to do with God, and "the feelings of true believers cannot be offend."

Although the posterity of such statements is often annoying, the courage of "Whirlpool" deserves praise: it is better to talk about sensitive topics deliberately and through grotesque heroes than to be silent at all.

Russian TV shows are moving further and further away from typical on-air projects like "Cops". Skills and budgets will gradually grow. And then, probably, someone will be able to create their own "True Detective". In the meantime, it remains to look for the truth in neon lamps. I am glad that she is there.