Entertainment
Rachel Weisz Is Pitch-Perfect in a Netflix Miniseries That Can’t Fully Match Her Freak
You’d be hard-pressed to find an actor with bolder, more compelling projects on their resume than Rachel Weisz. Most of these fall into the film category, from team-ups with Yorgos Lanthimos in The Lobster and The Favourite to instant sapphic classic Disobedience, Rian Johnson’s quirky adventure-comedy The Brothers Bloom or the edgy Gothic mystery My Cousin Rachel. In 2023, however, she led her first TV series, giving two of the best performances of her career as a pair of genius, ethically questionable twins in Dead Ringers. Despite being based on a 1988 film (which was based on a 1977 movie), it felt wholly original and utterly brilliant — and perhaps a bit too intense and subversive for the average audience.
Though undoubtedly a dark comedy, Vladimir’s lighter tone is likely to prove quite a bit more palatable and accessible to viewers than Dead Ringers. Still, there are definite thematic parallels between the two that highlight the type of project Weisz seems to be most interested in telling right now: ones about flawed, complex women who are bursting at the seams with ambition and desire. The fact that the Netflix show unapologetically embraces its protagonist’s imperfections in an age where even the most sympathetic multidimensional female characters face immense criticism (Pluribus’ Carol Sturka, for example, or The Pitt’s Trinity Santos) makes it easy to overlook that Vladimir itself is admittedly imperfect, too.
What Is ‘Vladimir’ About?
Vladimir introduces us to a nameless creative writing professor (Weisz), who’s suffered numerous recent plights that essentially boil down to the issue that nobody seems all that interested in her these days. Her fellow professor husband, John (John Slattery), doesn’t desire her anymore; her formerly adoring students find her out of touch; and her 27-year-old daughter, Sid (Ellen Robertson), thinks she’s overbearing and unevolved. To make matters worse, John is in the middle of a sex scandal for hooking up with multiple students a decade ago — more an irritation than a betrayal for the protagonist, considering she and John had an arrangement.
The whole world, it seems, wants her to condemn John’s actions and swiftly leave him, but the protagonist is much more interested in pining after a young new professor instead: Vladimir (Leo Woodall). She’s drawn to him like a moth to a flame, complicated by the fact that he’s married to perpetually stressed adjunct Cynthia (Jessica Henwick), with whom he has a young daughter. Still, the sexual tension between the main character and Vladimir is palpable… or is it? Is there a real spark there? Or will she come to learn that that connection is simply all in her head — and that the fantasy isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be?
‘Vladimir’ Lets Rachel Weisz Show Off Her Pitch-Perfect Comedy Skills
From House of Cards to Fleabag, it’s not particularly unusual — especially these days — for characters to break the fourth wall, but it is one of the trickier storytelling devices to pull off. In incapable hands, it can be cheesy or an overly convenient way to slip in overt exposition. Luckily, Weisz makes a meal of her monologues, expertly playing off the audience, who she treats as both trusted confidante and unwanted intruder depending on the situation. Though marketed as an erotic thriller of sorts, Vladimir ends up being more silly than sexy — and that’s not a bad thing. Weisz has always been a gifted comedic actor, but rarely has she had the vehicle to showcase it quite like this, flexing her ability for dry, witty, dialogue-driven humor and much broader, kookier, and more physical fare alike. There’s not one second where she’s phoning it in, consistently going all-in at even the most ridiculous moments.
I only wish Vladimir didn’t feel like it was holding back. The series is bookended by scenes that tease the protagonist being deliciously unhinged, though the opening flash-forward is revealed to be much tamer than it initially appears, and the ending is cheekily ambiguous in a way that’s not altogether satisfying. There are other tiny glimpses of this deviance peppered throughout (like when the protagonist subtly grinds against her chair to pleasure herself during a meeting), but Vladimir is afraid to let her go full freak. The result is a tone that’s grounded in a way that ultimately holds the story back from reaching its true weird and wild potential as opposed to making it real and relatable. The show has some bite to it, but it stops short of drawing blood, too shy and polite to completely embrace anything that runs the risk of veering too far into offbeat or off-putting territory, despite its simmering enticingly under the surface.
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While Vladimir’s dramatic and thriller elements don’t hit as hard as they could, the show nails its comedic beats time and time again. Weisz’s excellent performance is a big part of that, but the razor-sharp writing and creative direction deserve credit, too, as they work in tandem to satirize Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z in equal measure. The way the series integrates technology is especially notable, with two particularly hilarious gags involving a barrage of text messages for a wax appointment and an all-consuming spiral about what a certain emoji from Vladimir could possibly mean. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times an episode and occasionally having to rewind to pick up on a joke I missed, as the pace is snappy, without any of the bloat that so often plagues streaming shows.
‘Vladimir’ Nails the Female Gaze, but Could’ve Gone Deeper With Its Themes
Though Vladimir does skew more silly than sexy, there are effectively steamy moments. These are mostly quick and imagined, with the protagonist daydreaming about Vladimir making out with her in her office or coming onto her in the bathroom. Woodall perfectly walks the line of impossibly attentive and attractively aloof, and he has enough chemistry with Weisz to make their romantic scenes enjoyable, even when they start to get a bit repetitive. The fact that each of these scenes is unquestionably filtered through the female gaze, rooting us firmly in the protagonist’s point of view, is refreshing and still feels relatively groundbreaking in 2026. The stranger, subtler moments when her hungry perspective becomes apparent — when Vladimir puts his hands behind his head, for instance, or rubs at a stain on his pants — are even more captivating due to their specificity.
Vladimir raises interesting, timely questions about power, feminism, and the #MeToo movement, but it stops short of engaging with them in a meaningful way. Because it doesn’t seem to know quite what it wants to say about the topics, it ends up not saying much at all, the commentary staying close to the surface rather than diving deep into the intricacies. It revels in its main character being messy and subversive, but after all is said and done, it’s more thematically clean and conventional than it wants to be.
Aesthetically speaking, there are areas where Vladimir showcases a real sense of style, right down to the episode titles, which are named after novels by female authors, and their card designs, which are clearly inspired by classical paintings. The needledrops are also notable, ranging from Chappell Roan to Doechii and Patty Smith. The focus on women artists at every level is significant and undeniably influences the viewing experience, even if subconsciously. By not leaning into its edgier, murkier elements, Vladimir stops short of being a masterpiece, but it’s still a hell of a lot of fun. Weisz’s confident comedic performance will have you laughing and rooting for the main character (even when you probably shouldn’t), and there’s just enough spice to scratch that romantic itch. Vladimir may not be an obsessive page-turner, but it’s still definitely a book worth reading.
- Release Date
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March 5, 2026
- Network
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Netflix
- Writers
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Julia May Jonas
- Rachel Weisz gives a compelling performance, committing entirely to the role and showing off her comedy chops.
- The direction celebrates the female gaze and immerses the audience in the protagonist?s perspective.
- The writing is sharp, with dry, witty dialogue and clever visual humor.
- The show plays it too safe at times rather than leaning into its darker, messier elements.
- Themes of power and feminism aren?t explored with as much depth as one would like.