![]() ![]() With the British rom-com series “Lovesick” already under his belt, Flynn is quickly establishing himself as one of TV’s most charming and versatile leading men. But the process of making these ideas more accessible only increases the show’s reliance on tidy, neat allegories for Einstein’s tumultuous personal life.įraming Einstein’s younger days as something akin to a “Shakespeare in Love”-style intertwining of spontaneous inspiration and newfound love isn’t a novel setup, but the show’s shrewdest move is in its casting of Johnny Flynn as the younger version, with unkempt black hair replacing the white locks of dorm room posters galore. The complex theories of mathematics and science that Einstein helped pioneer shouldn’t be the sole property of those with an advanced degree. These are helpful overviews, but they feel like trying to retroactively insert Einstein into a time-shifted version of “Cosmos,” rather than the more satisfying investigation of the interior life that lead to those discoveries. Given Howard’s history with tales of brilliant mathematicians, it’s not surprising when the representation of Einstein’s ideas shift from lectures in front of a chalkboard to swirling visual aides. “Genius” is the TV brainchild of writer Noah Pink and showrunner Ken Biller, but the Ron Howard-directed pilot does show some trademark shades of the director’s past work. Johnny Flynn in “Genius” National Geographic/Robert Viglasky This doubles the opportunities to enter Einstein’s psyche, but it also multiplies the history-setting nods and the breathless proclamations of the thinker’s place in the changing world around him. One of the show’s self-imposed difficulties is that “Genius” bisects its storyline, hopping between Einstein’s 1932 escape from Europe during the rise of the Nazi regime and his time at university as a younger man. But that’s precisely why this show could stand to skip the grand proclamations and spend more energy on the real human conflicts driving this biography. Sure, Einstein has been at the heart of World War II triumphs and the modern understanding of the space-time continuum for decades now. Few interactions have the chance to stand on their own merits without having to be tied into how they contributed to Einstein’s greatness. Part of that all-consuming drive is that “Genius” traps every conversation, romance and geopolitical conflict in Einstein’s orbit. READ MORE: Geoffrey Rush Plays Lady Gaga on the Violin in ‘Genius’ Promo, New Series From Brian Grazer & Ron Howard - Watch ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Review: Season 2 Offers Classic Episode After Classic Episode
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