Netflix’s The Chosen One follows a shy preteen contending with the possibility of him being the second coming of Christ, but the truth is far more sinister.
Story
Jodie, Magda, Hipólita, Wagner, and Tuka lie to their parents to go hunt for a mythical creature, but the expedition turns out to be way more brutal for them. Jodie hears voices and miraculously gets them out of the desert.
Later on, another huge miracle occurs when a truck goes astray and falls from the highway, onto Jodie, who inexplicably survives. Word moves around pretty fast that Jodie is a miracle child.
Jodie and his friends decide to bank on this reputation, coming up with tricks to make money from the spectators. However, Jodie begins to believe that something really is wrong with him. He also learns a bit about his father.
His followers increase in numbers and it all starts to go to his head. He learns the full truth about how he came to be, as he hurts his friends and mother, as well as other well-wishers as he becomes drunk and drunker with power.
His house of cards crumbles when his actions lead to Tuka getting killed. He realizes what he must do, before performing the last miracles of the town and revives Tuka and saves Ángelo.
Performances
Lilith Curiel demonstrates a lot of talent as an independent and yet very empathetic Magda. Juanito Angumea plays Tuka with a commendable effort, managing to bring out a really authentic persona.
Tenoch Huerta is there for a smaller screen time but does a good job with what he’s given. Dianna Agron, who plays Sarah, does so with a commendable commitment as well.
While she has no overtly animated bursts of acting to do, she effectively conveys the fears, anxieties, and desperation of a mother trying to protect her kid.
Bobby Luhnow, who plays the protagonist, Jodie, is a relatively new actor, and that fact might make itself apparent in certain scenes, but playing the lead character that’s got layers that reach to the hell isn’t exactly easy, and Luhnow makes it work just fine.
Positives
The cinematography in The Chosen One is thoroughly great and occasionally splendid. The smaller aspect ratio works well and imbibes some intimate vibe to the whole affair.
In terms of the other elements involved in the filmmaking, it’s a great effort, and sequences surrounding the more fantastical aspect of the story are shot immaculately.
There’s an ever-pervading sense of eeriness to the narrative that makes every next chapter exciting to speculate about. The performances save the show and really do the heavy lifting in the parts where other aspects fail.
Negatives
The twist is lousy and can be seen coming from the very first episode. That the story takes so long for it to be revealed is an exercise in redundancy.
While Jodie’s arc is already known by the end of the first episode, that leaves his friends and the stories of their struggles. This is something The Chosen One fails at quite remarkably.
Magda’s search for her brother is swiftly concluded but at least she has some romantic woes to contend with. Wagner is someone who gets completely sidelined while Tuka also has only a few major moments for himself.
Verdict
The Chosen One is a mixed bag for the most part, as the twists and reveals along the way are nothing but predictable, the themes are all too familiar, the storyline lacks depth, and the only exciting pace of the story comes at the very end.
The Chosen One
Director: Everardo Gout
Date Created: 2023-08-16 12:30
2.5
Also Read: The Chosen One summary and ending explained
