What happens when you just come out of the exam hall, done with your last paper for the session? you sleep first and then bingewatch SERIES. You give your brain the pampering it has lacked for a while due to the academic stress.
An unforgettable semester it was but I’m happy I survived. If I was asked to describe the semester in a word, HORRIBLE is what I’d describe it. But in all, I’m grateful for everything. Now I proceed to the next level.
During the course of my exams, I made sure to store as many movies, dramas, anime, books and whatever fun thing I came across. Made a mental note of some, collected some from friends who already had them and downloaded some when I came across good network. So, in all, I accumulated a number of movies and dramas for this summer break. (Forgive my choice of the word ‘accumulated’. It just seemed so appropriate. Hehe)
Before I proceed, be rest assured that there are no spoilers in this review.
After my last paper, I decided to treat myself to a series which seemed to have been receiving all the hype on the internet some weeks ago – Maxton Hall: The World between us. I also came across a review here on how good the series is and when I came across it, I added it to my after-exam collection. Although the series was hyped by instagram, tiktok and even by friends, I didn’t find it to be worth all the hype. After watching, it just seemed like a regular series to me.
MAXTON HALL: THE WORLD BETWEEN US is a series of 6 episodes each season and it is based on the novel Save Me by Mona Kasten. The series stars Damian Hardung, Harriet Herbig-Matten and Sonja Weißer as leads. Also, the entire series was casted in german language.
Maxton Hall is a school designed for the rich and wealthy. According to a character in the series, it is a microcosm of millionaires.
The first episode opens with James Beaufort (Damien Hardung), in bed with a girl. Both of them tangled in the sheets. He stands up from the bed, drink in one hand and walks out to meet his friends by the pool outside. He is dramatically welcomed into their midst and pushed into the pool playfully. He is called out when his sister, Lydia Beaufort (Sonja Beaufort) comes walking towards the pool, tears streaming down her face, her undereye a mess, thanks to mascara. She walked towards the pool, crying and ranting to her brother about how her life is going to be a mess if Ruby drags her into a scandal.
Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten), a girl from an average family who worked hard and got a scholarship into the prestigious Maxton Hall, wants to get into Oxford the next year, a university attended by former and future world leaders. But in order to get into Oxford, she needs a recommendation letter from one of the teachers at Maxton Hall. She then requests a recommendation letter from Mr. Sutton, one of their teachers at school. One fateful day, while she was just about leaving the school with her friend Lin, she finds a document she was meant to give Mr. Sutton. She runs back into the school and walks into Mr. Sutton and Lydia Beaufort kissing. The papers dropping from her hand and flying around. Getting herself back together, she bends, gathers them and leaves the classroom. Leaving Mr. Sutton and Lydia Beaufort panicking.
This whole situation requires James to intervene just so Ruby doesn’t tell on his sister. He offers her a huge sum of money to keep shut but she refuses. He even proposes his body for her to sleep with but she still remains a hard nut to crack. James who doesn’t know how else to get Ruby to shut up, is determined to make life hell for her.
Although I haven’t read the novel on which the series was based, I found the whole plot and storyline of the series amazing. And there’s also the casting. Many of the actors and actresses looked really suitable for the characters they portrayed. The only exception being Lydia, who to me, looked way too old to be James’s junior sister.
I loved the chemistry between the lead characters and the little humour weaved into the series but I found the series a bit too rushed which made me loose interest after a few episodes. I found myself replaying some parts in the series just to make sure I didn’t miss a point. But I didn’t find any. Although I’m not in anyway a director or related to movie productions of any sort, I feel the series would have been better if it wasn’t so rushed. An extra episode would not have hurt. For the purpose of avoiding spoilers, I would not elaborate on this anymore. But this made me loose interest and I found the series unappealing after the first two episodes.
There’s also the behavior of some characters which I found annoying at some point. The female lead’s insensitivity towards others, her alternating between being strong and ending up misbehaving, the Beaufort’s father’s masochistic and sexist statements. I found it all unsatisfying which led to my inability to enjoy the series. To me, it isn't really worth all the hype.
It is a nice series regardless but I don’t think I’ll be looking forward to the second season which is already in production.
Rating: 6/10.
To my brain, I’m really sorry I couldn’t give you something really satisfying to watch after the end of semester exams. Now, lets find another scintillating movie to spoil ourselves with, shall we?
