‘The Regime’ is a Twisted Triumph for Kate Winslet and HBO

The first time disgraced Corporal Herbert Zubeck (Matthias Schoenaerts) sees his Chancellor, Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet), up close in HBO‘s The Regime, she is surrounded by the golden halo of light. That is, she is standing in front of a large, round umbrella-shaped lightbox. It’s a Hollywood trick, shining fake, florescent light on a camera-ready cult leader. It doesn’t seem to bother Corporal Zubeck, though. Rather, he finds himself completely in Chancellor Vernham’s thrall, and she is soon in his. Thus starts The Regime, a deranged love story between dictator and proletariat. It’s a bleak look at the ways in which power corrupts, seduces, and seesaws that will leave you howling in laughter and twitching in discomfort in the same breath.

The Regime is a new HBO limited series created by Succession alum and The Menu co-writer Will Tracy. Like those two projects, it’s a dark-witted social satire. However, The Regime is stranger, bleaker, funnier and altogether more ambitious than those past works. While Succession anchored itself in a semblance of realism and The Menu took the concept of “Eat the Rich” to its natural, absurd conclusion, The Regime offers up a funhouse mirror vision of our own fractured world. As alien as Chancellor Vernham’s government feels, with its leopards galore, “Christmas carps,” and sugar beet patriotism, the nasty way “might” consistently topples “right” feels awfully familiar.

The Regime is set in a fictional, unnamed Central European country ruled over by the wacky, yet charismatic, physician-turned-tyrant Elena Vernham. Instead of taking on the stereotypical trappings of a military dictator, Elena sports Maria von Trapp-esque outfits and speaks to her subjects of the “love” they share. Her femininity is her armor. Her ego is insatiable. She is a leader who thinks it’s perfectly normal to open a state dinner singing a soft rock love song. That her cabinet, palace staff, and husband are frightened of her is obvious from the jump. But what Elena is terrified of are the things she can’t control: spores in the air, mold in the walls, and the threat of disease.

After massacring civilian protestors, Corporal Herbert Zubeck finds himself reassigned to the palace. Chancellor Vernham needs a new man to follow her around, checking the moisture of the air, and she thinks it’s a good PR move to make this man one of the “Butchers of Site Five.” As she tells the overwhelmed Zubeck, “I know the truth. There’s a good man in there, who deserves love.” From there, Zubeck is hooked. It never occurs to him that Vernham is feeding him propaganda. What matters is he feels seen by her. He becomes obsessed with the idea that they literally share dreams. This obsession will lead Zubeck down an outrageous and dark path to secure power for his Chancellor at all costs. She, in turn, will become obsessed with him. And things will get really weird really fast.

The Regime‘s drastic plot twists and ridiculous punchlines could have easily driven the HBO drama off the rails. What keeps this mad nightmare going is the talent in front of and behind the camera. Kate Winslet, an Oscar-winner who has been dazzling audiences since 1994’s Heavenly Creatures, somehow pulls out her most revelatory performance in over 30 years of acting. Her Elena Vernham is cruel, comical, and in full possession of the movie star’s intoxicating natural charisma. Matthias Schoenaerts, meanwhile, fuses the ferocity of a killer with the naivety of a child in Herbert Zubeck. Together, Winslet and Shoenaerts are as combustible as dynamite. Elsewhere, Andrea Riseborough does devastating work as Agnes, the loyal civil servant so devoted to transforming Elena’s cavernous palace into her perfect home that she lends the Chancellor her own young son Oskar (Louie Mynett).

The Regime‘s gorgeous visual language is a tribute to the work of Oscar-nominated director Stephen Frears and The Crown alumna Jessica Hobbs. Together, the two directors transform Vienna’s Schönbrunn and Liechtenstein Palaces into a bizarre, self-contained world, complete with workout spaces, government meeting halls, and a subterranean discotheque. The soundtrack, composed by Alexandre Desplat and Alex Heffes, punctuates every scene with a bombastic, jingoistic-sounding refrain. And of course, the writing, led by creator Will Tracy delicately threads the needle between high comedy and stark tragedy.

The Regime weaves together brutal political satire, delirious comedy bits, and sublime performances to take viewers on a warped journey through the looking glass. Characters fill very clear allegorical roles, but The Regime is far more than just a live action political cartoon. Even as the show giddily pulverizes the hypocrisies of Elena’s regime, it doesn’t let you forget the real cost of these power players’ demented games: human suffering. The Regime is a twisted triumph.

The Regime premieres on HBO and Max on Sunday, March 3 at 9/8 c.