Episodes viewed: 10 of 10
If last year’s (much better) Industry focused on the bottom rung of the trading ladder, Devils sets its sights on the top of the tree, a world that is as morally bankrupt as it is fiscally prosperous, operating in the darkest recesses of capitalism as bankers have the fate of entire countries resting on their decisions. Sadly, for all its gloss, the show never affords the grandiose subject matter, so rich in dramatic possibilities, the nuance and specificity it deserves, instead rendering the ambitions, subterfuge, backstabbing and career downfalls as a whodunnit. It wants to a be a Shakespearean tragedy of epic proportions; it’s much closer to a euro-pudding Billions.
_Devils_ is so over-stuffed with (mostly unlikeable) characters it makes _Magnolia_ look anaemic
Based on the novel I Diavoli by Guido Maria Brera, Devils essentially details the mind games between brilliant trader Massimo Ruggero (Alessandro Borghi) and his mentor, ruthless investment bank CEO Dominic Morgan (Patrick Dempsey). The psychological cat-and-mousery kicks off when Morgan overlooks Ruggero for promotion, the stakes raised when the successful candidate is killed after falling from a balcony and Ruggero is the number-one suspect. Borghi, best known for Suburra, has presence as Ruggero but can’t find subtleties or dimensions to make his arc convincing or inner life resonant, whereas Dempsey is less McDreamy, more McBastard, all sharp suits and hushed tones. Every episode starts with Ruggero musing about gods and devils in voiceover, trying to give the drama mythic dimensions, but the battle of wits never really catches fire.
Devils is so over-stuffed with (mostly unlikeable) characters it makes Magnolia look anaemic; there’s Ruggero’s ex-wife Carrie (Sallie Harmsen), whose shady past may have harmed her husband’s career chances; Morgan’s wife Nina (Kasia Smutniak), who once had an affair with Ruggero; Ruggero’s loyal team of traders (Pia Mechler, Harry Michell and Paul Chowdhry, who already lays claim to 2021’s best TV facial hair); Ruggero protégé Oliver (a likeable Malachi Kirby), who has a preternatural gift for reading people; and two investigating cops called Bale (Lorna Brown) and Winks (Mark O’Halloran), presumably because the writing team are Spurs supporters. But the other big plot-driver is Laia Costa’s Sofia, an Argentinian blogger for hacktivist organisation Subterranea, who, working in cahoots with Assange a-like Daniel Duval (Lars Mikkelsen), wants to bring down NYL for personal reasons.
It’s a glamorous, globe-trotting show (Germany! The Amalfi Coast! Earls Court!), directed at a fast lick and riddled with random stylistic tics, from numbers swirling around the screen (one of the directors is Sherlock’s Nick Hurran), to fast cuts, to images that punctuate dialogue. Around the halfway mark, the whodunnit runs out of steam and the fallout from the noughties’ European financial crisis comes to the fore (there’s tons of news footage to create context) as Morgan’s master-plan comes into view and Ruggero is finally forced to stand up to his teacher. There’s lots of interesting thematics in play here. It’s a shame that Devils isn’t sharp enough to carve them out.