High Fidelity – Review
Hulu’s High Fidelity is yet another retelling of a classic film from many years ago. The film in question is the 2000 film of the same name directed by Stephen Frears. However, this new television adaptation developed by Veronica West and Sarah Kucserka not only aims to change things up storywise a little bit, but aims to give its viewers a deeper connection to its main characters.
That is definitely an added bonus for television shows. There is so much more room for character development in a series than there is in a movie. A movie only has about two hours or so to get you deeply invested and wrapped up in the protagonists, whereas a television season has multiple episodes and multiple hours to get you to care. And High Fidelity really gets you to care about its characters.
Zoë Kravitz (left) as Rob and Kingsley Ben-Adir (right) as Russell “Mac” McCormack in High Fidelity (2020).
Zoë Kravitz portrays lead character Rob, a young woman living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn that really loves music. She has created specific playlists on her phone to listen to for certain moods she is feeling. Some of these playlists are even inspired by past relationships she has been in, and she listens to them as a way of coping with the breakups. Not only that, but she owns a record shop in the city too, where her friends Clyde (Jake Lacy) and Cherise (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) work as well.
Kravitz is an actress that has immense range and has proven herself to be one of the most promising talents of the past decade. She is usually great in everything she is in, but this is without a doubt her best performance to date. As Rob, she delivers an emotionally nuanced and powerful performance. She is a character that you feel sympathy for, laugh with, and just get to know throughout the course of the season. Seeing her day to day life was not only a riveting experience, but a greatly comedic one too.
But perhaps the best comedic actor in the series is Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Cherise. There are so many moments with her that will make you doubled over in laughter. She says some downright hilarious things that were not only so surprising, but so well delivered in terms of comedic timing.
Zoë Kravitz as Rob in High Fidelity (2020).
Naturally, with a show like this that is so fueled and inspired by music, you would probably expect it to have a killer soundtrack, and it surely does. You will often hear a couple of songs each episode playing in the background during certain scenes, and every single song choice was phenomenal.
The writing on display throughout the entire show is also superb. It is incredibly strong, often moving, and profoundly insightful. Although episodes three and four drag significantly due to not a lot happening in terms of story progression or character development, the rest of the show manages to be a remarkable achievement.
High Fidelity is a remarkably strong effort that contains a stellar performance from Zoë Kravitz and a deeply comedic and emotional script.
Overall Grade: A-
Certificate: N/A
Cast: Zoë Kravitz, Jake Lacy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David Holmes, Kingsley Ben-Adir
Developed by: Veronica West, Sarah Kucserka
Network: Hulu
Release Date: February 14, 2020
Episode Count: 10