Split: How much is the new taboo series from France tv Slash worth?

What is it about?

It’s the story of Anna (Alma Jodorowsky), a young 30-year-old stuntwoman who falls in love on the set with Eva (Jenny Bett), the star of the movie she’s in, and who she is. is doubled. She, who thought she was happy in her relationship with Nathan (Ralph Amousu) and who has been trying to have a baby with him for several years, is wondering. Will he have the courage to abandon heterosexuality to fully experience this emerging and overwhelming desire for Eve, an open lesbian?

who is he with

Split does not feature one or more faces that are particularly well-known to the general public, but relies on a cast of actors and actresses who are on the rise or already have solid careers behind them.

Thus, Anna is portrayed by Alma Jodorowsky, who appears in the series Life Before They (2015-2017) and The Serpent (2021), as well as in the film The Life of Adèle (2013).

Better known as a singer and musician, Jenny Bett, who plays Eva, has already been seen in Catherine Corsin’s An Impossible Love (2018), Kaamelott: Part I (2021), Les Olympiades (2021), Jacques Audiard’s At the Same Time (2022), or, Anatomy of a Fall by Justin Triet (2023).

Other main actors include Pauline Chalamet, the famous sister of French-American actor Timothee Chalamet, who plays Anna’s best friend Paola and previously starred in the TV series Sex Lives of College Girls. (from 2021).

Ralph Amousso plays Georges Diouf from the very first film Les Tuche (2010). The actor also got a supporting role in the TV series Missions from its 2nd season. Ralph Amousu recently appeared in two films The Three Musketeers (2023).

Is it worth checking out?

“I was lucky because france.tv slash is a kind of laboratory that allows new voices and new topics to emerge. I felt that I could experiment with them a lot.”says Iris Bray, the creator of the series, who we were recently able to interview for the online release date. division. It is clear that from the first moments we are amazed by the richness of the series’ proposal, starting with its numerous overt or hidden references to cinema and feminism, especially to several works by Collette or Violette Leduc. them. And how encouraging that is!

division More than just a love story, the series emphasizes that for Anna, leaving a man will not be the same as getting back into a relationship with another man, to the extent that society will instantly change its view. He does so for a number of reasons that were briefly and rather educationally mentioned at the beginning of the series.

division It’s also more than just a story of deception, as the series isn’t really built around it, like the usual plot twists of this type. No arguments, rivalry, misplaced pride here. A lot of communication, respect, and maturity comes from the relationships between each character, which all seem healthy.

division Ultimately, there is more to it than a simple story it comes out Because Anna welcomes his desire for Eve as anyone welcomes any new feeling, that is, simply with surprise and curiosity. The plot of the series revolves around the budding romance between Anna and Eva, and not, as is often the case, around an existential crisis on the part of the person concerned, or the bullying and violence of Didi, who announced her sexual orientation to those close to her. him.

In short, power division is to never take the easy way out and succeed in taking your audience where they don’t expect it. A real breath of fresh air, both in terms of form and in the care of the aesthetics of the plans or the approach imbued with creativity and intelligence. split screen (a visual effect consisting of dividing the screen into several parts to show several images at the same time), which at the bottom, by consent, become sexualized or updated and expanded representations of women, whether on the subject of pregnant women or bodily fluids.

For her first work, academic, author and film critic Iris Bray does well, a series rarely seen on French television, direct and sensitive in its representation of female desire and LGBT+ people. Therefore, we can regret that the creator’s ambitions were partly limited, both financially and creatively, by the public and audiovisual players, who are still a little cautious about these important topics.

“The people who make the decisions and hand over the money are rarely our age or younger than us. It takes a lot of advocacy to make them realize that our stories matter.Iris Bray explained to us. It was important to me that this series was visible beyond the wee hours, otherwise it would put us in the closet once again. That’s why I reduced the duration of the sex scenes, especially the orgasms, so that the series is “forbidden under 12″ and not under 16.”– explained the director.

Let’s salute, among other things, the excellent performance of the two main actors, Alma Jodorowsky and Jenny Bett, who manage to make us feel all the sexual tension, tenderness and mystery that revolves between the two characters. Let’s also salute the performance of Pauline Chalamet, who excels in the interpretation of the good friend with feathers, whose role is not limited to confidant or support of Anna.

In another register, finally, let’s think about the excellent work of Maud Geffry and Rebecca Warrior on the music (the original soundtrack, moreover, was awarded this year at the Séries Mania festival), which suits the atmosphere of the series very well. And a little bit remains in our head.

division Iris Brey is a mini-series you will discover this Friday, November 24 on france.tv slash, the France Télévisions online platform.