fakes, which hits Netflix on Friday, September 2, camouflages human truth in the garb of a teen drama. She achieves this by portraying the different sides of a human being, while also hinting at other personality prototypes.
Netflix synopsis of fakes read:
“Fakes is the story of two best friends who accidentally build one of the largest fake ID empires in North America. They move into a penthouse downtown, have more money than they know what to do with, and then get mugged. by the feds. One of them goes to jail, the other doesn’t.”
Despite the seemingly simple synopsis, the show is not that simple in reality. Created by David Turko fakes follows the decisions made by two high school seniors, Zoe (played by Emilija Baranac) and Rebecca (played by Jennifer Tong), who end up with illegal stuff and end up creating one of America’s largest fake ID empires, all by accident.
Interestingly, the show employs a fourth wall format, in which the main characters interact with the audience in their respective episodes. What starts out as a shallow series driven by teenage hormones soon catapults into a larger narrative of how humans mold themselves to survive.
Read on for a detailed review of fakes.
fakes Review: A real and funny drama dressed in the garb of a teen crime show.
Before each episode of fakesa disclaimer on the screen says:
“Some of this actually happened. But, like legally, we made it up.”
This sums up the show’s motive, ensuring that it doesn’t judge right or wrong, but instead focuses on survival. The most convenient way to portray this is to take two sides of the same coin. In this case, these two sides are represented by Zoe and Rebecca (also known as Becca).
Zoe comes from a modest background. With a single mom and an alcoholic brother who keeps stealing from her mom’s emergency stash, Zoe has more than enough on her plate. Although she wants to support her mother, she does not get along with either of her family members.
In the midst of a dysfunctional family, Zoe represents the only ray of hope that is expected to end up in a good university and put an end to the family’s problems.
He spends his weekends studying and is the last person on the planet who could associate himself with the word “illegal”. His frequent panicking and hyperventilation are seen as testaments to the fact that he can do no wrong.
Therefore, it becomes interesting to see her make decisions that are contrary to her perceived personality.
Rebecca, on the other hand, was born into a wealthy family. She looks entitled and behaves accordingly. Unlike her best friend Zoe, Rebecca spends her time partying and becoming popular. But having money is not the same as not having problems.
Rebecca comes from a family of Chinese immigrants who worked hard to achieve the American dream. However, her family is broken and her parents are too involved in their business to have time for her daughter.
Reality pinches Becca.
While Zoe clearly needs money, Becca doesn’t. So why does she get into a side job that involves making fake IDs?
It could probably be due to his conscious choice not to contribute to anything related to his family and instead have something of his own. This side of her personality has barely been scratched on the surface throughout the 10-episode show, but it can be gauged given her scattered interactions with her parents.
Zoe and Becca are each other’s anchor in life, especially as they both feel estranged from their families.
The format of the show adds to its truthfulness.
However, by glorifying their friendship, the creators of fakes he did not rule out the human side of his characters. This is guaranteed by the show’s format which employs the fourth wall technique, popularized by Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s flea bag. Using this technique allows both characters a chance to speak their minds and even explain their actions.
Weather flea bagThe sole lead of Used the fourth wall to comment narrations, the show uses it for both Zoe and Becca in alternate episodes of fakes, thus giving us two sides of the same story. While the fear of repetition looms large, the show doesn’t get monotonous for once. Neither does fakes They come with moral baggage.
For example, in the first episode of Zoe’s side of the story, she is shown as someone who is uncomfortable with the idea of her best friend paying for her dresses. In Zoe’s mind, she is hesitant, but relents after Becca insists.
However, the narrative in Becca’s head is completely different. She sees the incident as Zoe approaching her and asking her to buy her some dresses, as if she is aware that she would hardly make a dent in her pocket money.
Similarly, the use of certain forms of storytelling also helps to translate on-screen tension into bodily feelings. For example, during a fight scene between Zoe and Becca, the episode with Becca as the superego erases all the harsh words she said to Zoe as the scene continues.
Viewers can only hear them in the next episode (of Zoe) and get a clear picture of things.
But the show is not without its honest moments. For example, Becca helping Zoe during her panic attack episodes is literally the same on both sides.
In addition to the two leads, the third character to get their own episode is Zoe and Becca’s micromanager Tryst, played by Richard Harmon.
Becca defines Tryst as the guy with connections. But the truth is far from that. While he has connections, they are ready to beat him to a pulp when the need arises.
Tryst was the one who introduced Becca and Zoe to the fake ID business after approving a prototype that the girls showed him. Next thing we know, Tryst has preordered $30,000 worth of fake IDs and makes Zoe and Becca pay for it by having them create those 200 IDs.
The name, Tryst, is appropriate for the character of Harmon, who dabbles in numerous things, both legal and illegal, but masters none. He lives with his mother and is alone and alone.
An aspiring entrepreneur (in the legit “white” world) Tryst sleeps a couple of hours a day and is constantly on the lookout for angel investors who can fund his app pitch. In the morning, he works in a coffee shop and also deals with drugs. He starts with his legitimate launch meetings, followed by negotiations and partying until 4 in the morning.
Despite all the arcs provided on Tryst, he is still largely perceived as a part-time drug dealer. A little more backstory on Tryst might have helped flesh out the story better, as his motivations are unclear.
Are you a high school/college dropout in need of money? Or just another guy trying to make it on the streets? This remains largely unanswered.
What to consider in fakes: character development
When do you know that a movie/show has produced more than good characters? When they cannot be classified into hermetic categories and instead come off as inherently human. This is what fakes offers
Zoe is made to go through the ascending path of development, in which the innocent character finds different nuances for himself and embraces them.
This can be summed up in a scene where Zoe discusses her new hairstyle (short hair dyed red) with Clem and says:
“But, well, actually, I didn’t even like him at first. And then she was looking at me in the mirror the other day, and she looks just like me. It just matches something inside of me.”
Becca, on the other hand, takes a top-down approach, and we see the sentimental side of a princess-like character.
fakes It’s certainly not your normal teen crime drama. People here are selfish and don’t get lectured for it. No one tries to do the right thing because their definition of what is right depends on their circumstances, and rightfully so.
It takes its own sweet time to settle and ends on a note where no one knows what happened, leaving viewers guessing. As Zoe talks about “leaving a legacy” in episode nine, fakes certainly leaves an impression.
fakes is currently streaming on Netflix.
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