“Rough Diamonds” is a victim of the success of the Belgian fantasy – Cut Edge

“Diamond in the Rough” (2023) 3 out of 5 stars

Whoever came up with the title “Rough Diamonds” probably didn’t know that it was a good starting point for a review. The first episode of this new Flemish Netflix series isn’t perfect, but it beats everyone. Because pride prevails. Perhaps the fact that Belgium has made huge strides in recent years is unfortunate for series like ‘Rough Diamonds’, which have fallen victim to their own success.

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Main character Noah Wolfson (Kevin Janssens) lives in the UK, but returns to his hometown of Antwerp in the first episode for the funeral of his younger brother Yankee (Vincent van Sande). As the names suggest, the story takes place in the Orthodox Jewish environment. Noah tries to reconnect with the family and environment he left behind by helping them keep their diamond business safe from organized crime and the police.

Kevin Janssens is an actor made for lead roles, you have that with some. Although he sometimes dares to lose sight of his goal by mixing three languages ​​together Regi-wise. Which would be great, were it not for the fact that his English makes quite a few toes. No, there are certainly no mistakes in it, but the British one high teaAccent is just a step too far. Of course, he wants to show himself, but this is not necessary.

Then there is still a flower that can be thrown. Mary Fink, who plays Gila Wolfson on the series, is a Yankee widow. Fink is one piece of passion. An entire scene could be read from her face alone. Particularly impressive is the way it commands attention. Even when she’s not in the picture, you wonder what’s going on with her. It is undoubtedly the highlight of that first episode.

Good is not good enough

It’s weird how a series like this can be considered normal when it’s so impressive. Admittedly, so many things have been shot at the sights lately that sometimes you can’t see the trees for the wood, and you can’t tell the quality of the scrap. This is also the big problem here. When the standard goes up, the mediocre chain is suddenly not good enough. A few years ago, the Rough Diamonds had a Sunday night hit. Now the public broadcaster is pushing it far on Netflix.

It is questionable. Should we, as a country, be happy that we are already on the map, or should we mourn the fact that we only want the best of the best, the crème de la crème, the cream of the crop? But the first then?

“Diamonds in the Rough” is available to watch on Netflix.

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