The BBC and Netflix crime drama miniseries The Serpent is the story of Charles Sobhraj and has received positive reviews from some critics. The series stars Tahar Rahim in the title role.
It has earned a 61 percent score on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, where the critical consensus reads: “Tahar Rahim’s baffling performance brings a reptilian threat to The Serpent, but this lopsided portion of true crime is structured too Byzantine and too sensitive to the motivations of its central villain to really get under the skin. “
The story is based on the infamous French serial killer Charles Sobhraj of Vietnamese-Indian descent who killed at least 12 people on the so-called Hippie Trail of Southeast Asia in the 1970s. Mauritanian star Tahar Rahim plays the role of Sobhraj. Jenna Coleman, Billy Howle, Ellie Bamber among others also star.
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote about The Serpent: “The people behind this eight-episode miniseries about a serial killer never really figured out how to tell this story, and that sense is amplified by an incessant chronological cross-section that only confuses the tone. of the piece and momentum. “
Dan Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter opined that “The Snake ends up being an infuriating model of how poor storytelling choices, bad accents, and a dull central performance can thwart even the most inherently gripping threads.”
Melanie McFarland of Salon.com wrote: “After a moment, the complaint and the murders cease to amaze and a person may begin to wonder what it is that really drives a man like Sobhraj. His extreme is the melody, but the words that describe his soul don’t seem to be anywhere in the script. “
The Serpent is streaming on Netflix.
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