Rachel Weisz's sexual fantasies with a university professor land on Netflix

BarcelonaThe protagonist of Vladimir, the new Netflix miniseries starring Rachel Weisz, has no name, at least for the viewers. However, it is the only thing that the series' followers do not know about the character, a university professor who begins to have sexual fantasies about a younger colleague at the same time as she has to manage the investigation for inappropriate conduct by her husband, also an academic. The miniseries, which arrives this Friday on the platform and consists of eight half-hour episodes, functions almost as an interior monologue of the protagonist, who shares her frustrations with the viewers, often breaking the fourth wall and addressing them directly.

That John (John Slattery), the protagonist's husband, sleeps with everyone he can is not a surprise to his wife because, technically, they have an open marriage, but the husband's seductive urges may now have consequences for their careers. Furthermore, the protagonist feels that she has lost the admiration that her students once professed for her and that communication with her daughter is getting worse and worse. It is in this context that Vladimir Vladinski (Leo Woodall), a young professor, also married, appears, igniting the protagonist's fantasies, which viewers see in juxtaposition with reality. Vladimir is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Julia May Jonas, who has also been responsible for bringing it to the screen.

The fiction, set in a progressive university in the United States, functions as a dark comedy with a protagonist always on the verge of derailing and losing control. However, Rachel Weisz stated in an interview with Los Angeles Times that she never took the story as a comedy because it is a genre that does not quite fit her as a performer (in general, her career has veered more towards drama, although she has done projects with a touch of satire such as The Favourite). "I wouldn't know how to be funny – she says–. It's not my strong suit. I was aware that there were many ridiculous things, but life is often so ridiculous, isn't it? Things are going very badly in her life with her husband and everything. She finds it increasingly difficult to remain calm while trying to pretend that things are not going badly."

The protagonist's sexual obsession with her colleague also has a professional aspect, as it allows her to overcome the creative block she has been in for fifteen years and start writing again. "He is interested in her career as a writer. He asks her questions that others don't. And, obviously, the fact that he is extremely attractive also helps. But, in reality, it is his personality, his kindness, and the fact that he pays attention to her. She feels that he sees her," Weisz summarizes.