Why the "Eddie Bar" series from the director "La La Landa" cannot be missed

On the streaming service Netflix came the series The Eddy (translated as "Maelstrom" or "Eddie's Bar"). It was created by two very famous authors, whose participation is already considered a guarantee of quality. The first is screenwriter Jack Thorne, who worked on the original Shameless and Dark Principles. And secondly, the director of "La La Landa" and "Man on the Moon" Damien Chazelle.

In addition, Eddie's Bar pleases with an excellent interweaving of music and human stories. Only the main storyline sometimes seems redundant.

Jazz drive and beauty of filming

In the past, the famous American pianist Elliot left for Paris and opened the Eddy club (that is, the "Whirlpool") with his friend Farid. After a personal tragedy, he himself no longer wants to perform, but promotes a jazz band, trying to knock out a contract with a label for him.

Things are not going well at the club, and soon it turns out that Farid has contacted the criminals. At the same time, Elliot's daughter arrives. And the hero needs to literally be torn between the desire to save the club, showdowns with bandits and personal affairs.

You can hardly find someone who talks about jazz music on screens more vividly and more emotionally than Damien Chazelle. Drummer in his youth, he traded his passion for cinema. Maybe for the better: Chazelle himself tells Interview [Video]: Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash”) that he had no talent for music. But he makes films amazingly.

From his memoirs, the picture "Obsession" was partly formed - the story of a talented drummer who falls under the supervision of a brilliant but cruel teacher. This work has already brought the director worldwide fame. And then the romantic La-La Land appeared, which returned the former popularity of musicals and collected literally all the film awards, except for the ridiculously escaped Oscar.

In Eddie's Bar, Chazelle returns to his favorite theme. But this time the director got eight hours of screen time at his disposal. Therefore, he gives himself free rein in musical numbers, turning history into a film-concert. And during the work, the authors really built a kind of club and recorded live performances there.

What is more important, Chazelle managed not to go into the excessive retro-style typical of jazz tapes. Classic swing is periodically replaced by fashionable motives. And the shooting, unlike La-La Lenda, does not imitate the old cinema. This is a very modern and technical piece of work.

The opening scene lasts for several minutes without cuts, as if a random visitor entered the club and follows the main character. And at this time the local band lights up on the stage.

Filming with very long shots will return to the series more than once, providing maximum immersion in what is happening. And don't forget that Chazelle loves to work with a handheld camera, which provides liveliness and dynamics, making the viewer a participant in the events.

Alas, Damien himself directed only the first two episodes. And they are the ones who look as driving as possible. The rest of the directors carefully copy his style, but the difference is still too noticeable. Only TV director Alan Paul, who directed the last two episodes, can get close to the aesthetics of the initial episodes.

Interweaving of cultures and destinies

Don't forget about another important aspect of Chazelle's films: sound. Not even talking about "Obsession", where all the dynamics were based on drum parts, the same "Man on the Moon" conveyed the sensation of flight not only with a trembling picture, but also with a puzzling noise.

Of course, a series about a Parisian jazz club should be listened to as carefully as it should be watched. And it's not just about the musical part - conversations matter too. It's even good that Netflix released Eddie's Bar without dub, which will lose much of the beauty. It's no secret that Paris has long been inhabited not only by the French. And the international cast provides every possible variety of languages and accents.

Elliot himself interrupts from French into American English, the vocalist of his group swears in Polish with might and main (by the way, she was played by Joanna Kulig, known for the Oscar-winning "Cold War"). Farid's family is from Algeria, and in general, many Arab faces appear in the frame. And then you can hear the familiar clear English with a Slavic accent.

This mixing of cultures strongly influences the plot. Heroes bring part of their past to the overall story. And here it is important that "Eddie's Bar" is built in a very unusual way: the action develops linearly, but each episode is dedicated to a separate character, and through his perception the main events are shown.

If you look at the popular works of screenwriter Jack Thorne, you will immediately notice: regardless of the genre, he knows how to perfectly prescribe human characters. Whether it's the comedy-drama Shameless, the fantasy Dark Inceptions, or the superhero parody of The Dregs, his characters never seem like soulless functions. And the structure, where for one episode the minor character comes to the fore, allows you to better acquaint the viewer with the world of the series. After all, at Eddie's Bar, everyone has a story to tell.

The episode about Farid's wife suddenly turns out to be almost the most emotional. And this is where the difference in cultures is most clearly visible: a traditional Muslim ceremony suddenly develops into a fun party with a mixture of jazz and ethnic music.

And in exactly the same way, Thorne intertwines the fate of the heroes. Each of them becomes part of the main plot. At first imperceptible, and then invariably very important. And the name of the bar "Whirlpool" is revealed in a new way. This is not only an institution, but the whole story that the heroes got into.

There is a flaw in the show, though. And unfortunately, this is one of the central lines of the plot. Sometimes it seems that the authors too wanted to interest the viewer, and therefore added a semblance of a criminal investigation to the action.

Initially, as the first impetus for the development of the plot, it looks logical. But then the line gets too tight. Perhaps, as a simple meditative drama about the fate of people, Eddie's Bar would have looked better. And here the heroes are looking for answers that do not change anything at all in the perception of history. Just a detective for a detective's sake.

But behind this you can miss the most interesting thought: in most of his previous works, Chazelle talked about people who strive for fame. And Elliot is running from his past popularity with all his might.

But even with some flaws, Eddie's Bar leaves only a positive impression. This is a very well-shot series, in which beautifully woven human drama coexists with stunning shot production and an immense love of music. Everyone will surely recognize himself in at least one of the heroes, and on the next stage from the club he will feel the desire to dance with the visitors. One of the translations of the title does not lie: "Whirlpool" is really addictive.