Yes, psychopaths Charles Sobhraj and Marie-Andrée Leclerc were hazardous. The suave Frenchman murdered a series of backpacking hippies in Thailand and Nepal in the 1970s, with his Quebecois sidekick assisting in the recruitment of potential victims. However, the duo exhibited a unique erotic appeal that aided them in seducing those victims.
Their true story is depicted in the Netflix and BBC series “The Serpent,” in which Tahar Rahim and Jenna Coleman play them as equal parts dazzling and terrifyingly amoral. Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle), the upright Dutch ambassador on their tail, is in stark contrast to Charles and Marie-Andrée.
The show’s sultry, decadent 1970s feel is a big part of its appeal. “I never felt like it had to be in a documentary format, even if we were telling a true criminal story,” Said executive producer Tom Shankland, who also directed the first four episodes (he also directed the 2019 mini-series “Les Misérables”). Shankland, 52, revealed some of the visual inspirations behind “The Serpent” in an email and video conversation from Buckinghamshire, England.
“I believe there are times when you want to abandon the rigorous boundaries of space and time and create a third thing, a strange, dizzying vortex into something horrible,” Shankland remarked. Nicolas Roeg, one of his favorite filmmakers, is an expert in this style of brainy mind-scrambling. “It’s never just about the screenplay, it’s never just about the acting with him — it’s always about the unusual effect of the editing, the unusual shot choices that he makes,” Shankland added. “I enjoy how a location’s location and texture can serve as a visual metaphor or a technique to highlight an emotional subtext.”
The nonlinear storyline of “The Serpent,” which continuously jumps back and forth, has Roeg’s imprint. Shankland continued, “I admired his timeline montages in ‘Don’t Look Now’ and slightly out of control editing in ‘Bad Timing.'” “I’m sure some of these were on my mind as we were filming and editing moments like the terrible murders in the Kathmandu valley in Episode 4,” says the director.
While Shankland noted Barbet Schroeder’s 1969 film “More,” about a couple plunging into a drug hell on Ibiza, Robert Altman’s revisionist Western “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” (1971) had a greater impact on the series. “I love how his camera is always interested in elements other than the plot: the icy terrain, Warren Beatty’s wonderful furry coat, the extras discussing shaving, the guy dancing on the ice,” Shankland added.
The show even makes a reference to a specific scene from the film. Shankland stated, “Warren Beatty is set at a table in the saloon, taking the cards out.” “The zoom lens moves in closer, and he flashes a killer grin. I think I did that exact shot inadvertently in a scene of Tahar selling diamonds in episode two – Charles Sobhraj’s seedy glitter, the cobra’s tight, seductive smile before he bites.”
Shankland was blown away by French director Olivier Assayas’ epic picture of 1970s terrorist Carlos the Jackal. “I’ve always admired the low-key, authentic ’70s design of ‘Carlos,’” he said, adding that he wanted the series to have a similar visual precision: “It had to feel grounded at the level of what a space looked like, what an apartment looked like, what a street looked like — and ‘Carlos,’ is beautifully designed from that point of view.”
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