Note for note, The Eddy nails how life, in all of its free-spirited, surprising–and at it’s darker core, chaotic and uncontrollable–moments, is like the beautiful harmony of jazz music.
And no other current filmmaker makes that musical leap to film better than Damien Chazelle, who first splashed onto the scene with 2014’s Whiplash, only to follow that with the Hollywood musical throwback La La Land, which made Chazelle the youngest Best Director winner in Oscars history. With his newest project, Chazelle side-steps narrative features to get into the mini-series game, here making an 8 episode story for Netflix (now streaming). Centered around American nightclub owner and previously prodigious pianist, The Eddy (the name of the club) tells the story of Elliot (Andreé Holland) trying to save his Parisian nightclub, as well as his band and singer (Joanna Kulig) from going under. Throw in a newly transplanted daughter (Amandla Sternberg) and a mob that’s come around to settle their debts, and you get a show that’s exciting, gripping, dramatic, and visually stunning (the series was shot on 16mm film, which lends a grain not typical for Netflix or any streamer).
Fans of the director will have already noticed how Chazelle centers his stories around gifted artists whose attempts to achieve greatness through their craft often consume their realities, and audiences will be happy to see similar themes here, with Holland’s heartfelt performance driving the show (although each episode follows a different character). But beyond all that, The Eddy is really at its best when the story builds to a musical sequence, at which point it stops to sink into the best jazz jams you’ve heard, and all from the walls of a real Parisian nightclub (and really, is there anything better than being transported to the heart of Paris while we’re all locked down right now?). From the band’s on-stage jams, to spontaneous musical moments that sprout up like weeds on the streets, you’re going to find yourself rewinding, sitting breathlessly, and snapping to the rhythms from the comfort of your couch.
The Eddy proves that life is just better in the key of Damien Chazelle.
‘The Eddy’ is now streaming on Netflix.
