Leonardo: What the Must Watch reviewers think
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell share their thoughts on Leonardo on Amazon Prime Video. The eight part drama starring Poldark’s Aidan Turner tells the artist, engineer and architect’s life through the works that made him famous.
Amazon and Sony
Hayley says: “The kind of show your nan might suggest watching”
“How much you like this will probably depend on how much you fancy Aidan Turner, because it has very little else going for it. He plays this simpering Leonardo da Vinci, a sort of romantic, Lifetime-movie version of him. It's exactly the kind of show your nan might suggest watching but it's on Amazon Prime so I don't know how she'd ever find it.
“As for the historical accuracy, the teaser trailer that came out was all 'Discover the man behind the legend’ which, as a tagline, suggests some kind of truth behind god-like, unbelievable stories we've heard about whoever the person is. But in the first episode he is accused of murdering his muse (who, by the way, is played by the same girl who got murdered in The Undoing so that seems to be her job now) and it's just... not true. He was never accused of murder. I think it's fine if you're going to play around with history but if you do, you have to do it in a way that's clear, otherwise you just get shelved away as nonsense trying to be something it isn't — which is what I've done with this.
“Having someone accused of murder is a strange, big and unnecessary way of playing around with history. A genius who changed the world isn't interesting enough, so you have to make him a possible murderer too? Ultimately I thought the whole thing was a little bogus. And while I've read that it cost a lot of money, there are bits of it that look so cheap and bad. I might be being a bit harsh but, I just found it all a bit embarrassing. But Aiden Turner is very handsome, and his hair is lovely.”
Amazon and Sony
Scott says: “Just so pretentious”
“This falls into the trap that historical dramas have fallen into, where they try to depict a genius in history, but they end up making him sound like a complete bore. There are so many monologues about painting, so much chat about art, but really enough art. I ended up shouting at the screen 'we get it, you're an artist you can paint!'
“It is also just so pretentious. This obviously cost a lot of money. It felt incredibly laboured and so absorbed in the material that they forgot this was a show that was supposed to entertain people. Plus, wrapping this story up in a fictional murder mystery caper. Why?”
Amazon and Sony
Leonardo is available to watch now on Amazon Prime Video.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds and all other good podcast providers.
This week, the team hear from Amita Suman about Shadow and Bone on Netflix. They review Dreaming Whilst Black on BBC Three and Frank of Ireland on Channel 4. Plus, they pay tribute to star of stage and screen Helen McCrory.
