Everybody Loves Diamonds is a thriller series loosely based on the “Antwerp Diamond Heist” which is considered the biggest theft of diamonds in history. The series is streaming on Prime Video.
Story
Leonardo Notarbartolo plans to steal a billion dollars worth of diamonds from the Antwerp Diamond Center so he assembles a crew and comes up with a plan to carry out the greatest heist in history.
They go through many obstacles along the way, and Leo’s wife also finds out about his secret and joins in on the heist. It goes off without a hitch but afterward, someone betrays Leo and he is arrested.
Multiple people are after the diamonds and Leo finds himself under immense pressure to reveal the location but the genius that he is, he always has a plan under his sleeves.
Performances
Kim Rossi Stuart plays a fun protagonist and he plays him well. He isn’t morally spotless but he does have a charismatic air to him that many masterminds embody. Stuart’s performance is energetic and humorous.
Gianmarco Tognazzi, Carlotta Antonelli, and Leonardo Lidi make up the rest of the crew, and they have some chemistry together. Unfortunately, there just doesn’t seem to be enough for them to capitalize on.
Johan Heldenbergh is quite entertaining as Inspector Mertens. His character is quite stereotypical for this particular genre but Heldenbergh still gives it his all to make it an enjoyable portrayal.
Anna Foglietta only comes into focus in the second half of the series and she is alright in the role of Anna. Her performance is a bit uneven and unconvincing. Synnøve Macody Lund is brilliant as Judith, with an incredibly sensual and commanding performance.
Rupert Everett does well as John Lovegrove, even if the makeup he has gone through isn’t exactly spectacular. He is another character that is mostly kept vague but he does his best with it.
Positives
The innovative use of the fourth wall break in the initial episodes is intriguing. Describing the science behind the diamonds and how synthetic diamonds are made is quite informative and interesting at the same time.
The cinematography of the series is magnificent. The various shots of Antwerp and the other locations that have been scouted really well.
Negatives
The series was mostly predictable, despite considerable efforts to throw the audience off their trail. The story isn’t exactly innovative and follows a very basic formula for heists.
In fact, the heist itself doesn’t deliver on the level that it is supposed to. Some aspects of the heist are underplayed and that factors into an underwhelming experience.
Verdict
Everybody Loves Diamonds is a decent multilingual heist series that has some fun moments but overall doesn’t capture the audience the way it needed to. There are some good creative decisions but it isn’t enough to make the narrative thrilling and a must-watch.
Everybody Loves Diamonds
Director: Gianluca Maria Tavarelli
Date Created: 2023-10-13 12:30
2.5
Also Read: Everybody Loves Diamonds summary and ending explained