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- Peacock
- Nov 30, 2023
- Peacock
- Nov 30, 2023
Summary In 1942 Auschwitz, new prisoner Lali (Jonah Hauer-King) was put in charge of tattooing ID numbers and fell in love with fellow prisoner Gita (Anna Próchniak). 60 years later, widower Lali (Harvey Keitel) tells his story to writer Heather Morris (Melanie Lynskey) in this limited series inspired by real events.
- Peacock
- Nov 30, 2023
- Peacock
- Nov 30, 2023
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Season 1
Season Premiere: Nov 30, 2023
61
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Available after 4 ratings
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Summary In 1942 Auschwitz, new prisoner Lali (Jonah Hauer-King) was put in charge of tattooing ID numbers and fell in love with fellow prisoner Gita (Anna Próchniak). 60 years later, widower Lali (Harvey Keitel) tells his story to writer Heather Morris (Melanie Lynskey) in this limited series inspired by real events.
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
61
44% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
56% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
61
44% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
56% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
It is probably easy to pick holes in this adaptation but it is still a compelling piece of storytelling
Tattooist of Auschwitz stands apart from the crowd, thanks in part to the quality of its performances, not just by documenting the barbarity of the Nazis but the sprigs of humanity that managed to bloom during the darkest of times.
If "The Tattooist" doesn’t quite register as an Uplifting Testament to the Power of the Human Spirit — to its credit, I’d say — it’s an honorable project, honorably made, moving at times, horrifying at others, in broad strokes and small details.
It’s a sobering chronicle of a romance surrounded by death that’s, by virtue of its subject, more affecting than entertaining. It’s also slow-paced, suggesting the story may have been better told as a compact feature film rather than the drawn-out miniseries that has all episodes now streaming on Peacock.
Overall, though, the miniseries does suffer from a few flaws, including an intrusive soundtrack (by Hans Zimmer). Most important of all, the story is weakened by miscasting. As the young Lali, Hauer-King digs hard but doesn’t fully evoke the complex inner conflict Lali feels as he must betray others to survive. And, to me at least, he looks nothing like the older Lali, well-played by Harvey Keitel, who manages to bring Lali’s shame to the fore.
Don’t avert your gaze, we are told, but in turning the worst act of suffering and murder ever perpetrated by humans against humans into yet another tale of survival, The Tattooist of Auschwitz adds little to an over-exploited chapter of our shared history.
Jonah Hauer-King plays the young Lale, and he doesn’t have the depth that the role demands. He recently played the prince in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and that suited him better. Polish actress Anna Próchniak does her best with the thin character of Gita. As the saccharine Heather, Melanie Lynskey’s only job is to look soppy and tearful at regular intervals when the story cuts back to the present day.
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