Shafted - TV Series Review

Shafted tells the story of four friends - Cédric, Tom, Jérémie, and Tonio - whose love affair in both love and business goes to pieces because of the female breast. The series takes on the gazes of middle aged life, leaving a trail of coarse humour and on point wit against a modern day backdrop. Raunchy, occasionally crass, and sometimes cringe, Shafted tells a love story of such heart as well as its share of humor. Its a tale of love gone wrong and the challenges of romantic entanglements, along with a dose of generational struggles. This series perfectly brings the fine shades of romance and the intricacies of contemporary relationships without losing its humor born of real life. It gives a comedic take on the societal norms as we traverse the damaging chaos of a middle aged life, and Antoine Gouy gives the ensemble a nuanced performance of a every day struggles of a modern man. He is joined, each with their own charm and humor, by Vincent Heneine and Guillaume Labbé, Manu Payet, and Mélanie Bernier. The male camaraderie is the thing here, but it’s the actors playing their complicated significant others that warrant note for delivering some solid performances of the insecurities and desires that are traditionally associated with adult relationships.| Shafted gets directed with confidence by Olivier Rosemberg and Noémie Saglio who move fluently between the exaggerated comedic strokes and more intimate, introspective moments. Its clear throughout the series that the makers know exactly how to place the right amount of comedic timing and character dynamics in each episode for it to feel like its distinct own piece despite the fact that many of them share similar plotlines.

The musical choices in Shafted do exactly what it needed to, infusing the comedic and romantic undertones so much so it didnt drown out the true story being told. Filled with an eclectic mix of contemporary and classic tunes, the soundtrack reflects both the emotional arcs of the characters as well as enriching an auditory layer into the series.

In Shafted, the cinematography does an excellent job at capturing the wonderful, disorganized world of its characters. The series presents itself visually with dynamic camera work which traces the energetic narrative flow and it is also stylistically consistent. On one hand, Shafted does visual storytelling that works as a representation of visual storytelling, but also a companion to the raunchy, comedic tone that breaks with moments of real beauty and reflection.

Shafted does the production design thats a true meld between our modern everyday lives and comedic exaggeration. From cosy homes to bustling work places, each setting is a rort of the characters’ interior and exterior conflicts cloaked in the series’ overarching narrative aesthetic.

While ‘Shafted’ is not a story based on special effects, the practical effects found in it (and prevalent across the show) are still gratefully part of the realism the producers of the series at all times sticked to and resulted in a laugh and surprise in the most unexpected moments. Can these elements pull off the comedic hit without pulling at the authenticity of the plot?

Editing in Shafted is tight and just the right length to allow the comedic timing land exactly on cue, but pace the forward revelations emotionally along the way. There are a few smooth transitions from humor to heartfelt moments, and vice versa.

Shafted is fast and packed with pace like the lives of the protagonists. Shafted has a regular rhythmic flow that helps each episode keep the viewer glued and invested in the characters’ mad and difficult life events.

Dialog in Shafted is wise and vital, conveying the plot’s smart humor and honest feeling for its characters. Despite its successes in being funny—tonsure, the script is full of lines that will go down as potentially the most memorable of the David Mitchell oeuvre—the movie isn’t above reminding that it’s a raunchy movie; for the sophomoric pretty much stands in the way of more subtle fare. The issue with women is that they’re sometimes portrayed charmingly in cliché, which robs the series of its often thoughtful take on relationship.

You can safely head to Shafted for a lighthearted foray into the confusing crossroads of affection, friendship, and the middle ages. Emotionally important and nod to comedy, the series manages to be a mix of both with an experience as multi layered as it is emotionally moving, from gushing laughter to introspection. It is bold in its approach to serious matters and lively in the way it resolves age old narrative dilemmas.