Casual Viewing: Why Netflix looks like that

Will Tavlin for n+1:

In 2021 Netflix announced that it would start releasing a new original movie every week. A certain style soon began to take shape, a mind-numbing anticinema that anyone who has subscribed to Netflix in recent years knows by sight. I’ll call it the Typical Netflix Movie (TNM).

I’m not a huge Netflix viewer - I mainly use it to watch ‘mainstream’ movies that make it onto the platform, plus the occasional comedy special or documentary.

I was recently recommended Black Doves, the Keira Knightley thriller that is undoubtedly Netflix’s answer to the excellent Slow Horses on Apple TV+. Whilst it is a series as oppose to a movie, it still has all the hallmarks of the Typical Netflix Movie.

The characters’ dialogue is stilted, filled with overexplanation, clichés, and lingo no human would ever use, like two bots stuck in a loop.

Despite the implausible and unmemorable plot, the real deal-breaker for me was a particular piece of dialogue. At numerous points throughout the series, English characters wish each other “Happy Christmas”. Here’s the thing, no one from the UK wishes people “Happy Christmas” - it’s “Merry Christmas” (and a happy New Year)¹ - and it’s jarring every time a character says it.

1-star - would not recommend.