Not often do we get excellent tv series in Quebec, due to cruel underfunding and cultural isolation in North America. The best Quebec tv shows has to come from great cinematic minds, Denys Arcand for Duplessis or Podz for 19-2 and Minuit le soir.
It's a waste of time to watch this tv show in english dub (if it exists?). The masterfulness of Duplessis revolves around Jean Lappinte's impeccable impression of Duplessis, his « rural Quebec accent », his gestures, his colloquialism.
Duplessis the tv show also comes at a unique moment in Quebec Tv. You can feel the presence of theatre everywhere, from the static environment to the actor play. Quebec has always produced better stage actors than film actors, and it shows here. You need to watch this with an open mind, cause yes, the underfunding is apparent and cinematography isn't really present in the show. What is present, though, is accurate historical events and an honest, close to reality approach to these historical figures that shaped Quebec's history. Camera-wise, this is a 4/10. Story-wise, this is a 9/10. What is great, though, is that you're likely to forget the bad, static camera work the same way you're bound yo forget you're at the theatre when watching a play. You just get drawn into it and this is the moment you notice that, yes, this is not a Kubrick, but more of an accurate retelling of Duplessis' rise and stay in power.
Jean Lapointe just kills it as Maurice Duplessis. One of the greatest performance of Quebec's film-tv history. In fact, he nailed him so much, I started to nuance and better understand this highly conservative man in 1930s-1950s Quebec society of which posterity draws a bitter, harsh portrait of this man supposedly ushered Quebec in an era called La Grande Noirceur (The Great Darkness).
Should be a mandatory watch for every Québécois. A strong 8/10.
