Series review: Thieves Like Us
- Portuguese duo Marco Leão and André Santos’ series catapults audiences into the 1980s and a dystopic world full of saturated colours, which is ominously reminiscent of our own
Presented in a world premiere in the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) within the competitive section dedicated to TV series, Thieves Like Us, by Marco Leão and André Santos, depicts a version of Portugal gripped by a suffocating recession which seems to devour everyone and everything. In order to contend with the uncertainty around them, which they intend to turn into an opportunity, Domingos and Olinda plan on robbing the national bank.
With its photographic approach reminiscent of the glossy magazines of the 1980s - stylish yet overstated with obsessive attention to detail, whether in terms of set design, costumes or hairstyles (backcombed and voluminous to the extreme), not to mention acting heavily reliant on ultra-controlled use of the body (smoking a cigarette or removing shoes become sacred rituals) - Thieves Like Us transports audiences to a vintage version of Lisbon which we wish still existed.
Divided into eight 43-minute episodes, Thieves Like Us might and should be considered a comprehensive cinematic experience, a shot of formal elegance and black humour to knock back in one mouthful. A couple at home and at work, Marco Leão and André Santos have decided to reflect upon the society around them through the prism of the past, holding it up, like some kind of distorting mirror, to problems which are still sadly common today: recession, social inequality and gentrification. Screened at prime time on the Portuguese public TV channel RTP, Thieves Like Us is a UFO in the country’s series landscape, which leans more towards less controversial historical reconstructions. But in this series, uncomfortable questions are inherent to the story, which follows a pair of criminals who will stop at nothing to live the comfortable life they so desperately long for.
Thieves Like Us takes place in 1981, in a decidedly retro and saturated-toned Lisbon which welcomes the series’ protagonists with an inviting smile. Domingos (Tomás Alves) and Olinda (Teresa Tavares) – like some sort of Lusitanian Bonnie and Clyde - decide to get rich by way of robberies, which evolve from amateurish to dangerously professional. Domingos uses his hardware shop to make illegal copies of his clients’ keys, while Olinda takes charge of inspections by passing herself off as an Avon rep. After assessing the contents of these sumptuous residences, our pair of good-for-nothings throw themselves into a string of burglaries with the aim of amassing sufficient funds to buy the house of their dreams. On the face of it, everything seems to be going smoothly, between moments of pure adrenaline and heterosexual eroticism which is nonetheless filmed under a decidedly welcome mocking and grotesque eye which highlights its clichés. But an encounter with a mysterious character called Orlando (Miguel Guilherme) totally changes the game, driving our couple beyond the limits of their criminal world, which goes from small-scale to organised.
Shot with obsessive attention to detail, despite the limitations associated with a serial format, Thieves Like Us presents itself to audiences as a fascinating and destabilising work, a unicum in the world of Portuguese productions. An explosive mix of film noir, Italian detective movie and kitsch TV series along the lines of Dallas, but also boasting the formal elegance of Jean-Pierre Melville, Thieves Like Us manages to turn the macho stereotypes associated with 1980s film (and TV) production into a deliciously bewildering spectacle, where “real men” lose their hegemonic position. Filmed through an exhilarating homoerotic key (the details on high-cut underpants are anthology-like), the male characters are portrayed in all their vulnerability, as pawns in the service of a society which would have them “all of a piece”. The female protagonists are equally unforgettable, fake femmes fatales who have no intention of being manipulated. Thieves Like Us is a series to be savoured, like an amaretto sour: one sip at a time but without moderation.
Thieves Like Us is produced by Ukbar Filmes.
(Translated from Italian)
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