“brave New world” may be visually striking, but it still does minimal justice to the novel

By: Keaton Marcus

Review of Peacock’s Brave New World:

Will Peacock really be the platform to bring justice to Aldous Huxley’s classic novel? Will it finally give satisfaction to its many fans wanting an adaptation? Eh, not really. While this take on Brave New World is visually slick and sexy, they only scratch the surface of the groundbreaking book it was based on. This is about a future “utopia” that really is just a dystopia disguised in absolute perfection. The government has banned monogamy, family, money and history itself, while making it your social responsibility to have sex with as many people as possible to ensure your happiness. Crazy, right? Well, that’s just the start of it, we’ve also got happy pills in the future called Soma, with a nice color for every occasion. This all takes place in a little world called New London, while the non-conforming folks are left in the Savage Lands. There’s three characters that you gotta focus on, Alpha Plus Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd), Beta Lenina Crowne (Jessica Brown Findlay) and savage John (Alden Ehrenreich). John finally travels to New London after being whisked out of the Savage Lands, and threatens to completely debilitate the “peace” of their city. This is while Lenina and Bernard take a trip to the Savage Lands, finding all sorts of danger.

There’s much more than that, but I’ve only seen the pilot, and despite its mediocrity, maybe I can suck it up and watch till the end. There are a few positive things about the series. The production design is top-notch, the musical score is hauntingly beautiful, and the series does get a major factor right, knowing how nuts the plot sounds. But as Peacock’s biggest release at the moment, and being the adaptation of one of the greatest books I’ve ever read, I expected more, a lot more. The performances, sadly, are decent at best. You’d know Ehrenreich from 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, which although didn’t quite work out, the guy tried his best. It’s similar with Brave New World, you can tell he’s doing his best, but the series around him just isn’t capable enough. Especially since his character, John, is one of the most revolutionary roles to play. Jessica Brown Findlay isn’t exactly awful as Lenina, but to be frank, she’s too stiff to bring enough humanity to the character. And with the increased amount of time she has on-screen, it really didn’t work out. Harry Llloyd’s Bernard Marx, considered the main character of the big three, at least in the novel, is also watchable, but a bit robotic. It’s hard to really recommend a film or show without solid acting, and despite some redeemable factors, this isn’t the adaptation we’ve been looking for.

Should you Binge, Browse, or Skip?

Peacock’s Brave New World is a seductive and dazzling new adaptation, but it merely skims the surface of Aldous Huxley’s complex novel, filled with mostly bland performances. I would say…SKIP IT