The Spool / Reviews
The Black Plague rarely leads to dark humor in the otherwise well-done The Decameron
Netflix’s Middle Ages-set satire has a great cast, a sharp perspective, and the occasional joke that lands.
By: Tim Stevens
GenreComedy Drama
NetworkNetflix
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StarringTony Hale,
7.4
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To say creator Kathleen Jordan’s adaptation of The Decameron is loose is to enjoy the gift of significant understatement. The source material, an Italian collection of 100 tales “told” to one another by ten characters, was a kind of Canterbury Tales for the plague set. Or, more accurately, Tales was a Decameron for the Brits. The Italian work, after all, has about 50 years on Chaucer’s book. While the TV series does gather ten characters together, initially to celebrate the arranged wedding of Pampinea (Zosia Mamet) and Leonardo (Davy Eduard King), then to try to ride out the Bubonic, it largely ditches the tale-telling.

In its place is a satirical take on today’s class inequalities smuggled onto screen under the veil of a period black comedy. While likely conceived of during or in the wake of COVID’s darkest early days, the tones and themes update nicely to now. It does not reflect our modern situation as literally as it did in, say, April 2020. Nonetheless, it smartly captures how certain global tragedies cannot be dodged and how the rich and powerful will still try at the cost of the larger society. If only it landed its jokes as well.

The Decameron (Netflix) Zosia Mamet, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, and Jessica Plummer
Zosia Mamet and Saoirse-Monica Jackson learn the importance of decanting from Jessica Plummer. (Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix)

It isn’t for lack of talent. Tanya Reynolds—so good in Sex Education—proves she deserves a bigger stage, stepping into one of the lead roles as the handmaiden Licisca. She finds herself tethered to the vain and selfish Filomena (Jessica Plummer) as they journey to Leonardo’s estate. How the kind and socially conscious member of the servant class evolves in isolation as she tastes luxury and power for the first time is genuinely interesting and well-acted by Reynolds. A scene where she goes from faking kindness to the hypochondriac aristocrat Tindaro (Douggie McMeekin) to genuinely delight with him feels wonderfully organic and honest.

Her metamorphosis pairs nicely with Karan Gill’s performance as Panfilo, the husband of the devout almost to the point of paralysis Neifile (Lou Gala). Gill starts solid as a slick opportunist with a big secret. As the episodes progress, the character—and the work—gains depth and complexity. Gill’s scenes in the final episode are some of the best of the entire series.

The Decameron (Netflix) Tanya Reynolds
Tanya Reynolds knows you’re coveting her headwear. (Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix)

Gala, Plummer, and McMeekin’s roles have less depth, but the trio all find ways to make them more than their initial thin stereotypes, aided by thoughtful scripting from Jordan, Sarah Stoecker, and the rest of the writing team. Mamet stays—intentionally—more one-dimensional, but she makes it work. The way she says her age without actually saying it in the first few episodes proves one of the only great bits of comedy in The Decameron.

The rest of the servant class in the series, led by Tony Hale as Sirisco, the head of Leonardo’s manor give voice to the confusing relationship of boss to underling when boundaries break down as you try to outrace a killer virus. Misia (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Pampinea’s handmaiden, particularly illustrates this. She’s her lady’s biggest cheerleader and, at points, a best friend and confidante. At others, Mamet makes it clear how little she even considers the servant’s humanity. Watching the shifts from love to annoyance, from resentment to emotionally wounded play across Jackson’s features–often only her eyes–is uniquely satisfying. As the physician Dioneo, Amar Chadha-Patel occupies a middle ground between the rich and the servants. There he brings an incredible amount of charisma to the part, making him deeply watchable and giving increased gravity to the shifts in his character.

The Decameron (Netflix) Amar Chadha-Patel
This isn’t Amar Chadha-Patel’s charisma but isn’t not his charisma, if you get us. (Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix)

All of this ranges from good to excellent. Unfortunately, though, The Decameron is intended to be a comedy. A dark comedy, to be certain, but a comedy nonetheless. On this score, it stumbles. There are things that have the flavor of jokes. That woman is aggressively horny after seeming so demur! That clueless coward thinks himself both intelligent and brave! That person is such an egomaniac they demand everyone entertain them despite the palpable terror of death by terrible disease that hangs over every activity! Some of these are even used well for plot purposes. However, they’re primarily setups without punchlines. “This is a thing that could be funny,” The Decameron points out and then just leaves it there.

It’s not an unpleasant experience, to be clear. The series doesn’t make the audience groan or roll their eyes. This isn’t a case of bad or dumb or insulting jokes. At no point does a viewer feel embarrassed for the actors. The Decameron is not akin to those terrible parody films we got in the wake of Scary Movie’s success. It’s more like a La Croix of comedy. It has the essence of humor while rarely making you laugh.

The Decameron (Netflix) Karan Gill, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Douggie McMeekin, and Tony Hale
Karan Gill, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Douggie McMeekin, and Tony Hale just want to talk. (Giulia Parmigiani/Netflix)

The result is a show that is still worth watching. It has some very good performances, as discussed above. It does well with themes of the haves and the have-nots, of the need to look out for each other more, not less, as things get worse, and how our obsessions with things like religion or appearing strong can divide us and deny us the rich lives we are all entitled to as human beings. The Decameron works as an analogy for our modern world without being painfully obvious. It even has a pretty damn fun soundtrack.

It’s just not that funny.

The Decameron weaves quite a yarn while missing your funny bone starting July 25 on Netflix.

The Decameron Trailer:

GenreComedy Drama
NetworkNetflix
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