Vladimir Review: Rachel Weisz’s Unerotic Thriller Fakes Its Own Climax H2s: Vladimir’s Lack Of Steaminess Doesn’t Live Up To Its Provocative Poster The Academic Sex Scandal Is Vladimir’s Most Interesting Storyline, But It’s A Missed Opportunity Rachel Weisz’s Unreliable Narrator Is Too Much Tell, Not Enough Show

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Netflix’s new series, Vladimir, has a lot of promise, but doesn’t quite deliver. While the show boasts a strong cast – including Rachel Weisz, Leo Woodall, and John Slattery – it’s the show’s provocative and sensual storyline that will really draw viewers in.

The series Vladimir, based on Julia May Jonas’s novel and created by Jonas herself, follows an unnamed English professor in her fifties. She finds herself intensely attracted to a new colleague, Vladimir Woodall. This attraction quickly becomes an obsession, and it happens at a particularly difficult time – her husband and co-worker, John Slattery, is facing a hearing regarding allegations of sexual misconduct.

Right from the start, Vladimir distinguishes itself from typical midlife stories by presenting Weisz’s character as a narrator who directly addresses the audience and isn’t entirely trustworthy – she’s as much a threat as she is sexually driven. This adds a provocative and teasing quality to the series, but doesn’t resolve the underlying tension surrounding sex and desire.

Vladimir’s Lack Of Steaminess Doesn’t Live Up To Its Provocative Poster

© 2026 Netflix, Inc.

I knew I wanted to see the movie Vladimir the moment I saw the poster—a woman playfully touching a book. It’s been nice to see more films and shows exploring older women discovering their sexuality, especially compared to the usual stories of older men paired with much younger women.

Recent books and movies like The Idea of You, Babygirl, and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (featuring Leo Woodall) are part of a trend showing that women’s desire and sexual appeal don’t disappear as they get older. I also really wanted to include Vladimir on this list of enjoyable stories.

Vladimir starts off with a lot of potential, much like the beginning of a school year. There’s instant chemistry when Weisz’s main character meets Vlad at a work event. He stands out from her other colleagues by treating her with respect – he even offers her his seat – and their conversation is playfully flirtatious.

Just like a student’s motivation can decrease during a difficult semester, the connection between the characters played by Weisz and Woodall weakens as the show goes on. Despite the actors’ talent and good looks, they lack the spark needed to make the series truly engaging.

The character of Vladimir feels underdeveloped, which is a problem for this kind of thriller. Typically, these stories need a love interest who is both alluring and a bit dangerous. Vladimir comes across as simply a typical narcissist – he doesn’t even ask to read the protagonist’s work when she offers to read his. While many narcissists are charming, Vladimir’s attempts at being cool fall flat. This is disappointing because the actor, Woodall, has proven he can play charming, flawed characters well, as seen in his roles in Bridget Jones 4 and The White Lotus.

It’s not that Vladimir is uncharismatic – the bigger issue is what the main character imagines when she thinks about him. He could be completely bland, and it wouldn’t matter, as long as her fantasies were exciting. But those fantasies are surprisingly tame. Even scenes meant to be passionate, like kissing or more forceful interactions, don’t feel much more intense than what we’ve already seen in the promotional material.

With popular shows like Bridgerton, Heated Rivalry, and The Hunting Wives setting a high bar for steamy content, this offering falls short, particularly since it was advertised as being much more provocative. Even if the character played by Weisz is meant to be sexually reserved and have unexciting fantasies, what’s the purpose of showing those fantasies if they aren’t engaging or interesting?

The Academic Sex Scandal Is Vladimir’s Most Interesting Storyline, But It’s A Missed Opportunity

Despite being titled Vladimir, the show focuses more on John facing accusations that could cost him his job than on his romantic interests. We learn quickly that John and his wife have an open marriage, and while he hasn’t had a relationship with a student recently, he did in the past – a practice he dismisses as something acceptable ‘back then.’ Now, multiple women have filed complaints against him.

The story truly shines because of its focus on Vladimir. Telling the story through the eyes of his wife and coworker offers a unique perspective, particularly since so much of the responsibility and public scrutiny falls on her, even though she did nothing wrong. She’s the one tasked with convincing the college president to postpone the trial, and she’s also expected to publicly address her husband’s actions.

The story highlights how quick society is to blame women instead of the men who caused the problem, and it almost made me understand the main character’s wild actions – even though those actions felt jarring to the plot. While Vladimir brings up some thought-provoking ideas with this story arc, I didn’t feel like the trial itself had any genuine consequences.

John Slattery portrays his character as a mischievous professor, bringing a welcome energy to every scene. However, it’s hard to feel invested when the character himself doesn’t seem concerned about the trouble he’s in – and the same goes for his wife. Rachel Weisz’s character shows frustration, but never really considers why she keeps trying to help a man who doesn’t appear to want to help himself.

The main character likely avoids getting involved with Vladimir to prevent further drama. There are no other obvious obstacles – her agreement with John allows it, and Cynthia, Vladimir’s wife (played by Jessica Henwick, who doesn’t get enough screen time), has already indicated she wouldn’t object.

John consistently pushes boundaries, while the main character is hesitant and reserved, highlighting how disconnected she is from modern perspectives. Despite being in an open marriage for a long time, she seems surprisingly unaware of common relationship dynamics like new relationship energy (NRE) and compersion, needing explanations for these concepts. A story about a woman discovering her own sexuality by challenging the expectations of both her marriage and her academic life would be compelling, but unfortunately, that’s not the story we’re seeing.

Rachel Weisz’s Unreliable Narrator Is Too Much Tell, Not Enough Show

© 2026 Netflix, Inc.

Netflix promoted its show Vladimir as a story where you can’t trust what the main character is telling you, and the beginning suggested it would be true to that idea. In the first episode, the main character boasts that her colleagues devoured her picture-perfect salad, but the camera then shows the salad is actually still full and untouched.

There’s a smart bit of writing here, but the author, Vladimir, doesn’t develop it further. I expected to dislike the main character, but I quickly came to trust her, even when she made risky choices—and she consistently lived up to that expectation. Vladimir seems to confuse being erratic and unstable with being an untrustworthy storyteller, and it ultimately weakens the narrative.

Everyone talks about how Vladimir messes with what’s real and what isn’t, but honestly, I didn’t find it confusing at all. Sure, the main character has these really detailed daydreams, but it was always super obvious when he was just lost in his head. I never once thought what I was seeing wasn’t a fantasy.

Honestly, I’m really worried about how this is going to end with Vladimir. It all depends on whether we can actually trust what Weisz’s character is telling us, and right now, it just doesn’t feel like it’s working. The whole story is losing steam, and it’s becoming clear Vladimir just couldn’t pull it off.

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2026-03-05 11:40