Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel adaptation was highly anticipated. Netflix took risks. But Sandman manages to enter the history of the series in the best way. Review (without spoilers).
The Sandman has been kidnapped and, in his absence, the Dream Realm has crumbled. When he manages to escape, 106 years later, the one who answers to many names – Sandman, Morpheus, Dream… – will undertake a quest to rehabilitate his kingdom, recover his coat of arms and save humanity from untraceable dreams, of eternal slumbers and nightmares escaped into nature.
Cult graphic novel and major work by Neil Gaiman, Sandman deserved a grand adaptation after 30 years in our bookstores. The audio version, at Audible, was rather successful, but everyone hoped to see the dreamlike adventures of the sandman on screen. Attempts for the cinema failed, and Gaiman refused for a long time to see the work adapted. But in this port for Netflix, the author is involved in the development (as for Good Omens on Prime, another adaptation of his work).
With so much waiting, the risk was great. It follows, however, that Sandmanavailable on Netflix since August 5, an adaptation that will mark the history of TV series, not only for its intrinsic quality, but also as proof of excellence that it is possible to bring even the most singular works to the screen.
Each episode is a mythological painting
Sandman is a dream come true in more ways than one. And it is to Tom Sturridge that we owe this first. The actor, not content with a pale, rough-hewn physique giving life to the character with exactness, adds an additional dimension thanks to his penetrating voice (very well transcribed by the way in VF by Marc Arnaud). His playing, a skilful composition of softness and strength, delivers the coup de grace of a misty, introverted, powerful interpretation. So, there is no doubt: yes, Tom Sturridge is Dream, as if he had pulled himself out of the comics to incarnate himself in flesh and blood. And he bewitches us.
He’s not the only one delivering a top-notch performance. The interpreter of Mort, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, undoubtedly manages to grasp the substantial goodness of his character to connect with his brother, Rêve, in a touching way.
The dreamlike aesthetic, of course, also has something to do with the overall beauty of the adaptation. Netflix has deployed great resources to deliver grandiose sets. But it’s only a question of special effects (very classically successful these days when there’s a budget): the artistic direction, above all, is on top of things to represent the different kingdoms, the accessories, the costumes and the esoteric atmosphere.
Each episode acts as an overall mythological picture: a new quest in a philosophical tale, a new world in a fantastic tale.
A bit of horror, gore and chilling moments slip in regularly, a gloomy atmosphere obliges, but without confining excessively to the gloomy, enough to deliver some bursts of poetry in a disenchanted universe.
Adapting without betraying is (also) changing things
An adaptation always poses a double challenge: one must not betray the original materials, but one must also free oneself from them at the risk of producing a redundant work, poorly adapted to the screen or dated. So things have to change.
The Netflix port of Sandman demonstrated an astonishing loyalty and the involvement of Gaiman was in any case a pledge of it. There are, however, some deviations and… they are happy. If we stick to the preamble of the first episode, to avoid any spoilers, we note that the motivations of Roderick Burgess are different. From an ambitious wizard, the adaptation makes him a man who is certainly cruel, but who wishes to find his son. Here and there, modifications make it possible to further anchor Sandman in reality, to accentuate the narrative backdrop of the work.
As for the changes in the genre of characters (Lucifer, Constantine…), among other modifications wanted by Neil Gaiman himself, they precisely make it possible to give credibility to a universe created 30 years ago with a better diversity of characters. This only adds to the story, so it’s safe to assume that negative reviews on this point are clearly out of place.
So, as an adaptation, Sandman will speak as much to the hearts of fans already conquered by the graphic novel, as to newcomers discovering this universe for the first time in their lives. All the artistic work carried out for this Netflix port makes it a work so singular that it has no equivalent. And it is sensational.
Sandman, season 1, on Netflix since August 5, 2022.
The verdict
We liked
- Tom Sturridge bewitches with strength and gentleness
- Dreamlike aesthetics with small onions
- A strange, unusual philosophical tale
- The character of Death
The adaptation of Sandman on Netflix meets all possible expectations. Tom Sturridge is the living incarnation of Rêve both by his physique and by his interpretation full of gentleness, introversion and strength at the same time. The artistic direction, meanwhile, plunges into a strange dreamlike atmosphere, sometimes gloomy, with poetic touches. The result is a fantastic and philosophical tale intimate in its narratives, ambitious in its representation.