Griselda Cast: Vanessa Ferlito, Martin Rodriguez, Juliana Aiden Martinez, Sofía Vergara, and Alberto Guerra
Authors: Ingrid Escajeda and Carlo Bernard
In charge: Andrés Baiz
Netflix is the streaming service.
Six episodes totaling around an hour in length.
What It Concerns:
The popularity of Narcos, one of the most remarkable early Netflix blockbusters, inspired the show’s makers to develop many seasons and spin-offs. Undoubtedly one of those spin-offs, Griselda is a new Netflix miniseries that tells the tale of Griselda Blanco and stars Sofía Vergara in a part that defies her comfort zone, but the actress is fully dedicated to it.
Examining the script:
Griselda functions as one of those biographical tales that centers on the ascent and descent of a certain person. This time, though, the narrative is about Griselda Blanco, a businesswoman and mother who viewed the drug trade as her ticket out of poverty and to creating something she could call her own—rather than Pablo Escobar or Walter White. Though the basic idea is not very novel—characters have traveled similar paths in several other movies and TV shows—Griselda is lucky to have Sofía Vergara to liven things up.
Vergara ties everything together since some of the supporting people the program attempts to portray as fascinating are never truly deserving of that designation. Even though they are supporting characters, Rivi and June in particular feel as though their lives die when they are not on screen. Despite having a lot of screen time, they never seem like they could work on their own. We feel as though Griselda is the only one who cares for her children, thus our attention to them seems a little pointless.
Star Performance:
Griselda is the star of the Sofía Vergara program, and she gives her all to the part. The actress has spent the previous ten years mostly being linked with comedies, but in this role, she demonstrates that she has so much more to give by putting her dramatic skills to the test and succeeding in every one of the six episodes. She may be presenting something that seems more like a struggle and stepping outside of her comfort zone, but she makes it seem simple.
The reason other supporting characters follow or confront Vergara is because she exudes an unmistakable leadership quality that is difficult to underplay. Her charisma is difficult to tone down, but this only serves to improve her performance because it is evident even through makeup.
Direction & Music:
In the director’s chair, Andres Baiz contributes his expertise. The filmmaker has directed episodes of Netflix’s The Sandman in addition to Narcos, of course, and he knows how to helm a good TV season. Instead of going overboard with his approach, which makes the episodes appear a little too generic in terms of the cinematic language used here, he opted to make the characters the primary thematic and visual drivers of the episodes.
The show’s music is equally important, and Carlos Rafael Rivera fills the role admirably. In recent years, River has established himself as a mainstay of Netflix films, and his work accomplishes the necessary tasks of enhancing the emotions that each scene aims to portray. Additionally, many of the scenes are given a feeling of reality and location by the use of diegetic music, which may even inspire you to conduct some research so you may listen to those songs outside of the program.
Final Thoughts:
Even if Griselda doesn’t quite live up to the standards set by the previous two seasons of Narcos, it is nonetheless an enjoyable watch. Sofía Vergara dominates the stage, demonstrating her versatility beyond merely making us laugh. Perhaps we should take a break from this narrative framework and revisit it in a few years.
