Netflix does it again: “The Leopard” is an excellent adaptation of a classic of Italian literature that, while being faithful to the original novel, manages to capture its essence and bring it to the screen in all its complexity.
How do you adapt a long, complex novel full of characters and situations without losing its essence? Netflix has done it in recent months (particularly noteworthy was the adaptation of “One Hundred Years of Solitude”) and now does so with Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel, successfully capturing the essence of those tumultuous days and the end of an era.
It does so structurally, but is especially luxurious and aesthetically spot-on. Once again, a luxurious, precise, and virtuosic literary adaptation translated to a television series.
Plot
The series follows Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, as he navigates the seismic political changes of Italy’s unification. With Garibaldi’s invasion of Sicily in 1860 as a backdrop, the narrative explores how an aristocratic family confronts revolutionary change.
The Actors
Kim Rossi Stuart leads the cast as Prince Fabrizio, with a nuanced performance that captures the complex moral landscape of a nobleman watching his world dissolve. He is joined by talented actors like Deva Cassel as Angelica and Saul Nanni as Tancredi, creating an attractive romantic triangle.
A Well-Executed Historical Recreation
Filmed in iconic Italian locations like Palermo, Catania, Syracuse, and Rome, the series excels in visual recreation: impactful, precise, and above all, very luxurious, capturing the essence of that forgotten 19th-century Sicily. “The Leopard” manages to draw significant aesthetic attention.
About the Series
No, this is not the first time someone has adapted this exceptional novel. This adaptation follows in the footsteps of Luchino Visconti’s legendary 1963 film, winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. While paying homage to its cinematic predecessor, the Netflix series offers a new interpretation of Lampedusa’s classic novel.
Tom Shankland, the series director, takes these exceptional precedents into account and takes his work very seriously: the novel’s legend is great, but Visconti’s adaptation is legendary cinematographically, and the proposal is complicated: can one aesthetically surpass Visconti with a series that will inevitably be compared to the film? The director accepts the challenge and, moreover, emerges successfully and notably in this comparison.
There will be those who continue to prefer the film, but this series has so many points in its favor that it is worth watching.
Our Opinion
Don’t miss it. While Netflix may not always get it right (it’s inevitable to fail sometimes when entering artistic terrain), in recent literary adaptations of great classics of Literature, we have to recognize that they are hitting the mark: “The Leopard” manages to capture the essence of Lampedusa’s novel and give it a luxurious aesthetic.
The great theme of the novel is change in an era of transformations, revolutions, and social changes: it captures and summarizes this perfectly.
Don’t miss it, because “The Leopard” is definitely worth it.
Where to Watch “The Leopard”
The Cast
Greta Esposito
Paolo Calabresi
Francesco Colella
Astrid Meloni
Francesco Di Leva
