The new television drama 'Amadeus' has drawn criticism for being a flat, airless and banal version of the 1984 film and Peter Shaffer's original play. The six-part series, co-created by Joe Barton and Julian Farino, retains parts of Shaffer's work but reworks them into lesser forms, according to one review.
The series stars Will Sharpe as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Paul Bettany as his rival Antonio Salieri. The narrative is told as a confession by an aged Salieri to Mozart's widow, Constanze, instead of the film's priest, a change described as lowering the stakes. The performances, particularly Sharpe's, have been called thin and half-hearted, with Sharpe's portrayal likened to Richard Ayoade's character Moss from 'The IT Crowd'.
The review highlights the reduction of Shaffer's themes—envy, religious faith, the mystery of talent—to pale, petty versions. A key scene in which Constanze brings Mozart's manuscripts to Salieri is noted as emblematic; the original's famous speech is replaced by a simple camera pan, symbolising a broader 'diminishment'.
Bettany's Salieri does well with a script that offers no chance to compete with F. Murray Abraham's Oscar-winning performance, while Sharpe is hampered by the script's banality. The series follows Mozart's arrival in Vienna in 1781 and his subsequent rivalry with Salieri, but fails to capture the wit and profound themes of its predecessor.
