Zero Day, the review of the Netflix series with Robert De Niro

The United States will be in chaos, but not as much as the fictitious America of Zero Day (in streaming on Netflix), new political thriller miniseries with Robert De Niro. In the series, a terrorist computer attack shocked the nation, extinguishing the main communications and electrical networks for exactly a minute and causing thousands of deaths. Anyone who launched the attack has concluded his brief siege with a disturbing threat: at a certain point, in the unspecified future, it will happen again.

What can a America do in shock do? Well, of course, the federal government recalls a former president from the pension, George Mullen, played by De Niro, and entrusts him with the task of leading an ad hoc agency practically omnipotent, in charge of unmasking and punishing the managers of the attack. Obviously not everyone in Washington (and beyond) are enthusiastic about this appointment, nor of the almost unlimited power granted to the Commission. And so Mullen must juggle among the turbulent waters of a high -risk criminal investigation and a growing civil discontent. As if that were not enough, he lets him doubt his mental health, feeling music that no one else can hear and seeing people who no one else can see.

Like Carrie Mathison, the Queen of the Drones of HomelandMullen struggles to distinguish the illusion of illusion of his mind from the concrete and disturbing facts he is discovering. Zero Day – created by Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim And Michael Schmidtand directed by Lesli linka glactter – It is charged with a mountain of complications to be solved, because perhaps this is precisely what the intricate espionage thrillers should do. The series, however, struggles to organize its numerous elements in a fully functional mechanism. Some joints of the plot, such as the cognitive problems of Mullen, seem to incen the gears. Zero Day It is not so elegant and self -confident as it probably would like to be.

However, it remains compelling, a complex mystery that develops at a constant rhythm within six episodes. De Niro perhaps seems to be committed to 75% in the part, without ever showing discomfort for all the technological notions that is forced to pronounce and trying to give depth to the emotional weight that weighs on Mullen, while the events begin to echo a tragedy of the past. But De Niro cannot do much with a character whose flatness is, after all, intentional, a man who, gradually, becomes the shining symbol of that American value so dear: the noble centrism.

Zero Day It is not just a compelling technological mystery. A reflection on how we live today in these disunited states is also, at times. During the series, we often speak in frustrated tones of both left and right extremists. Dan Stevens plays a paranoid and tremendously influential character to Alex Jonesan aggressive cryptolibertarian, determined to sow discord. At one point, the word “pronouns” is spit with anger and even we are not asked to share the feeling, we are not even asked to reject it strongly.

Zero Day It is a pounding and sincere appeal to mental health, with a nostalgic gaze towards the way politics worked once. It opposes accelerationism, but at the same time it ardently wants that the country restores itself … in reality, it is not clear exactly what historical period Zero Day Look with regret. Pragmatism as a navigated Mullen statesman, blurred by doubts about his cognitive skills, could be an allusion to Joe Bidena man at the end of his career (and his life) who responded to a great call to stop a malicious force and, at least in theory, heal the nation. De Niro is a curious choice for such a role: he is too gruff, too rough to fully interpret such a firmly and impassive figure. Likewise, the series struggles to transform Mullen into a credible vehicle for its great and peaceful message.

Some of the messages of the series affect the sign, in particular its insistence on the need to remain faithful to its principles in the face of a wave of personal and professional compromises. Maybe there were also people willing to sacrifice their comfort and power in the current government to avoid a national catastrophe.

The real strength of Zero Dayhowever, it is its stellar cast, a group of illustrious names that, either they found themselves one morning with a Netflix truck full of money that reversed on the road, or were really inspired by the appeal of the series to common liberal sense. (Or maybe both!). Joan Allen He plays Sheila, Mullen’s wife, who points to a seat to the Supreme Court. Lizzie Caplan It is their ambitious daughter, a deputy determined to distance himself from his father’s overcome policy. Connie Britton He plays the role of a shrewd chief of cabinet with complex ties with the Mullen family. Jesse Plemons It is Roger, his assistant/handyman a little shady, also deeply linked to the dynasty. Angela Bassett plays the president, suggesting that Zero Day it could almost be part of the cinematographic universe of Mission: Impossible. To these great actors are added others: Bill camp, Matthew Modine, Gaby Hoffmann And many others. It is a pleasure to see them all in action, as they move frantically and pronounce jokes charged with the future of America.

The atmosphere of imminent catastrophe It adapts to perfection in our times. I just wish that Zero Day was more incisive in his analysis, that he did not resort to old clichés that seem to come out directly from The West Wing. Too often the series appears designed for a more conservative audience, spectators who see a wave of new terms, causes, technologies and ideologies to overwhelm them and who would simply like to sweep away, going back to an era of more familiar problems. I can certainly understand this instinct, but it serves very little to really face contemporary challenges. Not that this must necessarily be the task of a TV series, but Zero Day He often puts himself in that position, climbing the pulpit to give lessons (or sermons) on how to reconnect with the fundamental meaning and promise of America. To this many spectators could legitimately object: «What exactly would this promise be? And for whom would it really be thought of? ».