Stream it, no doubts. It is not the best crime thriller series ever filmed, but it represents a completely new way of telling stories. With this show, about a big-money heist, Netflix (with the director Eric Garcia) has completely revolutionised the world of storytelling. Indeed, you can watch the 8 episodes in any order you like: there are no episode numbers, each instalment has a colour instead. Some episodes are flashbacks, others are set in the aftermath of the heist and one is actually about the crime itself. There are 5,040 ways in which you can experience Kaleidoscope and it works quite well in each of them. Also, Netflix serves up a randomised order for every subscriber, even though the series finale, ‘’White’’, is placed at the bottom of the order for everyone (but you can still decide to watch it whenever you want, Netflix just suggests watching it at the end).
Surely, one of the best aspects of the series is the performance of the cast: in particular, Giancarlo Esposito, who played Gus Frigus in Breaking Bad, is a really good actor and portrays the main character, Leo, in an excellent way. ‘’The reason I took this role in Kaleidoscope - Esposito said - was because I wanted to play an everyman who was struggling with some of the things that normal people struggle for’’. And even if not everyone steals 7 billion dollars, everyone is traumatised in some shape or form. And this is the reason why we find ourselves sympathising with Leo, who may be a criminal, but certainly not a villain. So what makes the series really entertaining, besides the possibility of choosing the episodes, is the great characterisation that we get to see on screen: Leo, as well as the other characters, is extremely well written. And this is, in my opinion, very important for Kaleidoscope to work well. As a matter of fact, the plot itself is very simple and could appear quite predictable. The main theme, the big money heist, is something that we have already seen before (for example, the recent series ‘’La casa de papel’’ is all about a criminal crew robbing a bank) so the director needed something else to keep the spectators stuck to the screen. And Garcia succeeded in establishing a deep relationship between the fictional characters and the public. So what really keeps us glued to the screen is the fact that we experience the same feelings and emotions the characters go through. And just like a kaleidoscope, this series opens our eyes onto a deep explanation of evil and leads us to understand what lies behind crime.
Anna Donà
