Amazon Prime Video is a streaming platform that offers a multitude of films and series for a monthly price of R$ 9.90. Gradually, it is gaining more space in the hearts of those who love cinema and popcorn. Its original productions can win you over, both for the plot and for its very high quality.
The holidays are just around the corner and more than ever, you need to make your list with everything you want to watch, why not give the Amazon originals a try? You sure won’t regret it!
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
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The first recommendation is for an unmissable series, with 20 Emmy nominations for 2019, in addition to 92% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes.
The acclaimed production The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel takes us back to Manhattan from the 50’s and 60’s, in this scenario women were under constant pressure to always be presentable to their husbands and did not have many plans besides getting married and having children. The plot has as protagonist Miriam Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), who did not have very different ideals from a privileged young woman from the Upper East Side.
Although “Midge” – her nickname – went to college at a young age, it was where she met her husband, Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen), who she married early and had two kids with. These changes were what made her abandon academic life, following the traditional female lifestyle from the time.
The family led a peaceful life, but it is when the husband decides to end the relationship and leave the house that Midge’s life gets completely transformed: She still has two children to take care of and ends up returning to her parents’ house, who does not accept the end of her marriage, even though it was not her choice, because, at the time, a divorced woman was not well regarded by society.
The twists don’t stop there, after the divorce she ends up getting drunk at a family party and goes to a bar where Joel used to try his luck, without much success, in his comedian career. However, when she takes the stage and lets out about her tragic situation, Miriam ends up discovering that she was the one who really had talent for the stand-up comedy, not her husband.
At the same moment, she is noticed by Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) an employee from the establishment who offers herself to guide Midge on a journey as an artist and to be her agent, despite having lifestyles separated by two opposite social realities, they manage to create an ideal professional relationship and also, a friendship.
Soon, she starts her promising career with small shows New York bars, suffering some struggles because the world of comedy is still predominantly male.
The protagonist’s talent is extremely natural, her way of speaking at events such as her own wedding or friends’ parties already made everyone laugh even without her planning, this spontaneity only made her success definitive in gigs and comedy.
In addition to presenting a captivating storyline and extremely well-constructed characters, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel brings many reflections on the role of women in a predominantly patriarchal and sexist society, showing how Miriam manages to overcome all these pre-established leads and conquering her space in an environment very little explored by women.
There is no doubt that this story will inspire you a lot and you will have fun watching it!
- Fleabag
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In a partnership with BBC, this is another Amazon Prime production that was highly acclaimed at the Emmy’s, standing out for winning 6 important awards. With few episodes and short seasons, it is still memorable: Fleabag is a sitcom that talks about the life issues of a 33-year-old British woman who faces her family and love issues and other situations such as loneliness, depression and grief caused by her mother’s death and her best friend’s suicide.
Yes, these themes are somewhat melancholic, but that did not stop Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the brilliant creator and protagonist of the series, from balancing the scenes with a touch of humor. The jokes carry an acid tone and can cause some discomfort, but they will also trap you and get a lot of laughs.
Did you notice that I didn’t refer to the main character by name? That is because it is never mentioned throughout the series. This factor may go unnoticed, but it is something that has a great role in imposing a certain distance between her and the people she lives with, reflecting an idea of loneliness and promoting empathy and closeness on the part of those who watch, as all situations are transmitted in a light and natural way.
Another resource used by the work is the breaking of the fourth wall, which is essential for the construction of the plot, since it allows the protagonist to establish a relationship of complicity with the viewer, as a friend who shares secrets. We come to expect her to look at us when something funny or bizarre happens, inserting us as part of the described moments.
And this is how Phoebe manages to transport viewers through the story, creating an immersive experience from beginning to end and making it impossible to not binge-watch the series.
So, how about giving Fleabag a chance?
- Little Fires Everywhere
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Here’s another big hit from Amazon Prime: Little Fires Everywhere. The series was launched in March 2020 and its extremely positive repercussion among the public and critics led the production to be nominated for this year’s Emmy as the best miniseries. The plot is based on a novel of the same name, written by Celeste Ng, who was inspired by her reality to write the book, which deals with themes such as structural racism, elitism and the white privilege in society.
The series takes us to the late 90’s, in the city of Shaker Heights – Ohio, inhabited predominantly by upper class whites. One of the cores of the plot is the Richardson family, which enjoys the privileges brought by the money that comes from the social class and the lifestyle in which they are inserted.
Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) is a woman who despite being a journalist, is blinded by her reality of life, as she has never left her social bubble and, therefore, is unable to understand any lifestyle or situation far from her, something that triggers a series of conflicts and complications in the course of history.
However, the life of this family ends up undergoing a series of changes by the arrival of Mia Warren (Kerry Washington) and her daughter Pearl (Lexie Underwood) in the city. The two come from a completely different reality than the inhabitants of Shaker Heights are used to, as they do not lead a wealthy life and live the reality of two black women, unlike the women from the Richardson family.
Elena, incorporating the personality of the white savior by appropriating the idea that black people need help, rents her old house to Mia for a much lower price than it really was worth, in addition to offering a job as a maid at her home. From the moment they move into the property, Pearl becomes friends with Moody (Gavin Lewis), one of the Richardson’s children, connecting the two families.
Meanwhile, Mia’s past is full of secrets, that’s why she ends up moving away with her daughter and coming into conflict with Elena, who starts to suspect that her “friend” may represent some kind of threat to her and the family, which she tries at all costs to make perfect. Despite this obsession, the more she tries, the greater the conflicts with her husband and children are, leading all her plans to fall apart.
Little Fires Everywhere is a complete miniseries, which manages to address several social issues in a cohesive and convincing way, detaching from a series of clichés in which the plot could easily get lost. I guarantee that this story will surprise you.
- Modern Love
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Have you ever lived a love story? What would you think of publishing it in the most famous newspaper in the world?
The New York Times has a weekly column called Modern Love, where readers can share their love experiences, whether they are romantic, familiar or a beautiful friendship. This content has already been transformed into a book, a podcast and, in 2019, it was adapted by Amazon Prime and brought to the screens in streaming. However, not everything we find in the series is real, some details have been modified to better suit the production.
Modern Love is an anthological series, a romantic comedy that brings eight love stories through independent episodes, each of which can conquer the viewer in a totally different way, as they give life to different types of love.
In the first episode, we are already faced with characters that would make anyone watching to get emotional and end up spilling some tears. In this tale we find Maggie, who moves to New York in search of her independence and ends up getting pregnant. Her doorman, Guzmin, is a gentleman who nurtures feelings of affection and friendship for the young woman, taking care of her even when she doesn’t need it that much. It is impossible not to end the episode without wishing an entire series just for them!
Episodes like the third prove once again that Modern Love will surprise you by escaping the clichés of romantic comedies. Anne Hathaway gives life to Lexie, a woman who faces up the problems brought by bipolarity, which is treated in the episode in an extremely intense way and, at the same time, conniving with the reality of a person who deals with the disorder. In this story we get in touch with Lexie’s love life and, also, with other ways of love that will surprise you.
The last story is also very touching and will make you fall in love and create a great attachment to the characters. Kenji and Margot make a beautiful couple, they meet during a run and start to relate at an old age, showing everyone that a romance has no time to begin and that it is never too late to start a life with the one you love.
What are you waiting for checking out all these stories? Turn on your TV and go watch Modern Love!
- Utopia
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This is a production that promises to be one of the great releases of 2020 and arrived on streaming platforms in Brazil in late October. Utopia has as its screenwriter the extraordinary Gillyan Flynn, author of the book Gone Girl, a work that had a good repercussion when it was adapted for the cinema, which makes impossible a lack of positive expectations for other works of the author.
With a plot that alludes to classic 80s adventures, the series introduces us to five friends, Sam (Jessica Rothe), Wilson (Desmin Borges), Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Ian (Dan Byrd) and Grant (Javon “Wanna” Walton) who, after a long time of online chat, decide to meet at a convention of geeks where they intend to buy the manuscript of the comic book that motivated the beginning of their friendship: Utopia.
However, it is with the course of the story that these characters realize that putting their hands on the graphic novel will not be an easy task and they become more and more sure that it is not as fictional as most fans think it is. The details hidden in the comic book drawings hold secrets and predictions that can drastically change the direction of society and it is only when the group discovers them that they are able to understand the danger in which they were involved.
If they thought Utopia was just a conspiracy, they are now inside it, as there are people who are going to commit the most violent atrocities to exterminate anyone who has seen what is in those pages.
After facing the danger closely, the friends meet with the eccentric Jessica Hyde (Sasha Lane), the comic’s main character, who until then they thought to be another element of fiction. She takes the group with her on a mission, so that together they can save humanity from the tragedies predicted in the graphic novel. Utopia is now more real than ever, a virus created by a lab is on the loose, taking the lives of thousands of children and its progress needs to be stopped. This is one of several plots explored in the series, which highlights the memorable actor Rainn Wilson (who plays Dwight in The Office), he gives life to a virologist in search of a cure for the disease, which is also predicted in Utopia.
The story, then, ends up taking on much larger proportions than imagined at the beginning of the series, involving bigger panoramas like the United States government and a big corporation that proves to be a threat to humanity.
The presence of a pandemic in the series is just a coincidence with our current global moment since its production started in 2018. However, it can end up being a decisive factor for some people to give the production a chance or not. Utopia is, therefore, an extremely intense series that promises to shock the viewer with strong and violent scenes, which should be considered if you are sensitive to this type of content.
Anyway, watching Utopia is a super valid experience, as it is able to give us reflections such as “How long does a conspiracy last as just a conspiracy?” or “How far can those who have power go in the name of their own interests?”
So, which of these five Amazon Prime originals are you going to add to your list? Once the holidays start there will be no more excuses for you not to make your popcorn, turn on the TV and spend hours binge-watching a great series!
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The article above was edited by Anna Bastos.
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