In order to talk aboutIrma Vep, one almost has to explore the history of this project. In 1996, writer-directorOlivier AssayasreleasedIrma Vep, a film about attempting to remakeLouis Feuillade’s 1915 silent film serial classicLes Vampires. InIrma Vep,Maggie Cheungplayed herself, the actress hired to take on the title role. Soon after the release ofIrma Vep, Cheung and Assayas were married for a handful of years.
Cut to 2022, and Assayas hasIrma Vepthe miniseries. Once again, this version follows an attempt to remake Feuillade’s film, but withAlicia Vikanderplaying Mira, the actress who has been hired to play the role of Irma Vep. This time around, theIrma Vepminiseries also follows the film’s director, René Vidal (Vincent Macaigne) previously adaptedLes Vampiresinto a film years ago, fell in love with the actress who played the lead role, and Vidal is now adapting it into this longer format.
Confused? That makes sense. Even fans of Assayas’ previous meta work, such as the originalIrma Vepand 2014’sClouds of Sils Maria, might struggle with the blending of life and art that Assayas is attempting with this project. But it’s precisely Assayas’ ambition to make such an overtly personal look at his life, work, and how they bleed into each other is what makes this one of Assayas’ most daring and provocative works—even if the experiment doesn’t always work.
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While 1996’sIrma Vepprimarily focused on Cheung’s experience as a fish-out-of-water in a mostly French-speaking film set, and exploring the state of French cinema, Assayas expands his topics significantly. With this expansion ofIrma Vep, Vikander’s Mira is only part of the larger story. Coming off the success of a superhero film, Mira joins the cast ofIrma Vep—a project she’s actually interested in, as shown by her adoration forLes Vampiresoriginal actress,Musidora. While Mira’s agent (Carrie Brownstein) is trying to get her to star in theSilver Surfersequel, Mira is thrown into the troubled passion project ofIrma Vep, while also dealing with a recent breakup.
One of the biggest additions to this version ofIrma Vepis the expansion of the director character, which again, seems to be a very direct way for Assayas to deal with his own demons when it comes to this story and his tie to it. Magaigne’s René introduces himself to Mira by stating that he’s never happy and that he doesn’t care for movies anymore. He has anger issues, takes mood-stabilizing medicine, and frequents his therapist, where he talks about the impact thatIrma Vephas had on his life.
Amongst the stories of Mira and René are also the appearance of the frustrating crack-addicted actor Gottfried (played by Assayas favorite,Lars Eidinger); the film’s costume designer Zoe (Jeanne Balibar), who might be romantically interested in Mira; and Mira exploring her two previous relationships: one with her ex-boyfriend and fellow actor Eamonn (Tom Sturridge), who she broke up with to be with her ex-assistant Laurie (Adria Arjona), with whom things didn’t end well. In these first four episodes ofIrma Vep, the miniseries already has its fair share of problems, and it seems like things aren’t going to get better any time soon.
The first two episodes ofIrma Vep, “The Severed Head” and “The Ring That Kills” (named after installments ofLes Vampires), take their time in setting up where this story is going, almost to a fault. While Vikander is solid so far as Mira, the character’s various relationship entanglements are easily the least interesting part of these first two episodes—and take up far too much time to set up. Like all the characters inIrma Vep, Mira is at her most interesting when her story is focused on the making ofIrma Vepitself, which is what makes Eidinger and Macaigne’s characters so immediately interesting, since their stories are more directly tied to the creation of this project.
However,Irma Vep’s third episode, “Dead Man’s Escape,” feels right in Assayas’ wheelhouse, and the series finally starts to feel like it’s on the right track. Instead of taking his time to set up the intentions and history of these characters, Assayas jumps right into “Dead Man’s Escape” with a party, where the characters can explore their thoughts on film in a way that gives us almost more insight into whom these people are than the previous two episodes combined. Assayas’ is at his best in all his work when he allows the characters to simply sit around and have discussions with each other. In just a few minutes, we can see the passion, or lack thereof, that this cast has, as they explore the state of film today, their lives, and art in general, and how that impacts everything we know about them.
But like the originalIrma Vep, this miniseries is at its best when Assayas is discussing the state of the film industry through his meta approach. Again, this also picks up in the third episode, as we learn more about René’s inability to let this story go all these years later. Through the act of retelling and exploring one of his greatest works, Assayas is able to not only delve into what this story personally means to him in a very direct way, he can also explore what it means to make content in 2022. Several characters talk about how theIrma Vepthey’re making isn’t a miniseries, but instead, a long film split into multiple pieces, and how the two aren’t the same (Assayas has a similar issue with his 2010 miniseries,Carlos), while Mira frequently has to balance making major projects that keep her a star, which can give her the freedom to make smaller projects likeIrma Vep. Many times, Assayas is directly commenting on the absurdity of adapting his own work, having one character say of making the film into a miniseries, “you stretch the content, you adapt to the market—that’s the opposite of art.”
But by stretching this content, Assayas is also able to make this new version ofIrma Vepa love letter toLes Vampiresin a way that the abbreviated version wasn’t able to. Everyone on set seemingly hasLes Vampireson their phone, ready to revisit at a moment’s notice, which adds to some intriguing examples of Assayas and his miniseries counterpart René recreating these scenes.Irma Vepwill show a scene fromLes Vampires, then recreate that moment using new technology. It’s a fascinating experiment, even for those not familiar with the nearly seven-hour silent French serial from the 1910s. These recreations also feel like a way for Assayas to attempt a formally different style than his own, full of darkness, horror, and hilariously over-the-top performances—particularly from the excellent Eidinger. The shift to these recreations is stark, with brooding cinematography and a hauntingThurston Moorescore that feels like a mixture of silent film soundtrack homage and sharp Sonic Youth outtakes.
Irma Veptakes a bit too long setting the table before getting to the meat of this adaptation, but once it gets going in the third episode, Assayas is crafting a remarkably personal and shockingly honest look at art and himself that expands upon one of his masterpieces in captivating ways. By stretching his content, Assayas isn’t adapting to the market; he’s challenging the possibilities of meta storytelling and introspective narratives.
The first episode ofIrma Veppremieres on June 6 through HBO and HBO Max, with new episodes released every following Monday through July 25.
