‘The Sympathizer’ Limited Series Review – Setting A New Standard For Streaming Television

Park Chan-wook’s The Sympathizer carries the rare signature touch that most artists can only dream of leaving signed over a project; the sort of personal, instantly recognizable flair that creates careers and entrenches legends. The series cannot be mentioned in a sentence without also saying that name, mentioning that signature, and recognizing that mark. But by proxy of his eccentric influence, The Sympathizer is able to go far beyond that alone and into a realm of content that surpasses all expectations and trumps all standards. By all measures, this is a phenomenal miniseries that can only be done justice by watching it… and by all means, you must.

“All wars are fought twice. The first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory.”

The above quote introduces the series ominously, and it’s only up from there. The Sympathizer (based on the novel of the same name) is set on the ins and outs of the Vietnam War, following a communist undercover in South Vietnam who has a foot in every camp. It gets complicated at times, due in part to the nature of the events it’s retelling, but also because the writing is structured in a remote manner, unlike anything you’re likely used to.

Scenes are cut up, rearranged, and stitched together in ways that unveil their innermost workings to the highest extreme. It’s a remarkable achievement in screenwriting, and more specifically plotting, that’ll have you feeling at a loss when you tune into another show down the road that simply plays things straight. That isn’t a bad thing, in fact, it’s the usual storytelling standard, but The Sympathizer mixes things up to such an efficacious extent that it may as well be setting a new one.

Delivering the screenplay is one of the better casts we’ve seen this year thus far, too. At the top is Hoa Xuande who, in playing a double agent, is almost having to portray multiple characters under the guise of “The Captain”, switching sides every other scene and exhibiting a sharp ability to flip personalities, and allegiances, on a dime. Compare that to his second-hand-man Robert Downey Jr., who is literally playing four characters and manages the differences with a weathered class. He and Xuande create four compelling dynamics across different scenarios as the show advances, pulling the intricacies out of each new stage and each making a case for every possible award once the season rolls around. The Sympathizer may sweep in every category, and perhaps it should; it’s excellent in every way.

The breath of emotion and amount of ground covered in just seven episodes is astounding, as well. On rails, you’re taken just about everywhere under the sun, drifting swiftly from war-ridden city to escapist mansion, and back again, in addition to a bevy of other locales that make good use of the story and circumstances. The tone transitions from lighthearted laughter to suffocating sadness with ease; it’s never shocking, nor uneasy. As it does with everything else, the series handles this facet without flinching. Think back to that new standard; The Sympathizer standard.

With any series, especially a limited one, you can only ever hope for it to be as good as this. Unworthy nitpicks aside, The Sympathizer is as good as storytelling gets. A tale entirely human, dressed in rich aesthetic garb and tastefully worn by honest experience infused into seven fantastic episodes. If you have a Max subscription, watch it; if you don’t have a Max subscription, get one to watch it. The Sympathizer is the kind of show that is bound to stick around, made to shake the landscape of similar content and bleed inspiration into shows yet to be made, or even conceived. It’s an “all-timer,” if you will, and one you should tackle as soon as you possibly can.

The Sympathizer is now available to stream on Max. New episodes debut every Sunday on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47dRkhiERpE]