Christophe Waltz strutted into Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 WWII romp Inglourious Basterds seemingly out of nowhere and immediately wowed audiences and critics alike with his portrayal of the lizard-brained Col. Hans Landa. The character is a pure eating machine, cutting through any and everyone necessary to meet his ends of tracking down fugitive Jews in Nazi-occupied France. Landa doesn’t even seem to share in the moral bankruptcy of his fellow 1940s Germans; his only ideology is the task at hand and his own advancement/well-being.
The performance earned Waltz a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and he has been an elite and beloved film player ever since (Though one could argue Brad Pitt should have palmed the statue in his place for his turn as the lovable deviant Lt. Aldo Raine). Whoever we feel should have won, Waltz’s performance is outstanding and rightfully launched him into A-list status and another Oscar-winning campaign for his second Tarantino collaboration Django Unchained.
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The actor has been rightfully choosy about the roles he takes on, most recently lending his voice to Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio going for quality over quantity. Keeping this in mind, Waltz’s new Prime Video series The Consultant carries some lofty expectations. The dark comedy series follows an eccentric corporate efficiency expert Regus Patoff (think a more severe and tailored version of the Office Space Bobs) brought in to gauge the purpose and “value” of each employee in a modern-day company.
Based on the novel of the same name by author Bentley Little, The Consultant will premier on Prime Video on February 24. A teaser trailer was recently released for the series. Here’s a breakdown of the footage.
The Corporate Slog
The opening shot features a kaleidoscope-like view of Waltz’s Patoff through an elaborate window, a daunting first visual note to go with the equally eerie first musical note of the trailer. Two young casually dressed employees cautiously approach the shark-like Patoff as he stands motionless in a modern art-slathered lobby complete with neon lights and space-age furniture. The entire first scene is like something from a ’50s sci-fi novel cover depicting a tech-addled future. “Hello…can I help you?” one of the workers asks.
The camera cuts to an overhead of Patoff manually sharpening one red pencil of a dozen, a mound of shavings piling up underneath the effort not far from a row of neatly arranged documents. Patoff next stands atop a large set of stairs, calling for the attention of the gathered ranks of the company, introducing himself and his purpose.
The Big Office
His name is artfully painted on the same window we saw in the opening shot, followed by the man meticulously trimming his nose hairs and fingernails, followed by a comb gliding through his gray hair and a wide-mouthed, toothy look in a small mirror. This interplays with phones ringing and workers milling and gallivanting around the artsy common area replete with televisions playing images of animated animals and Patoff describing the “simple service” that he offers his employing companies.
“My purpose is to improve the business.” He coldly utters the line while arranging the aforementioned row of red pencils evenly to the atom and using one of the said instruments to swiftly strike through lines on a document before frantically curing a dry-erase board of all its markings. He then offers a wide grin and a devious sound that sounds something like laughter.
The trailer continues with Patoff creepily shadowing a female employee, and a mysterious key emerging from a hidden desk compartment. “We work for a sociopath,” another employee quietly utters into his cell phone, followed by another shot of Waltz staring down at him through a glass floor. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you all… personally,” Patoff says, just before a series of shots of him literally sniffing the necks of a row of employees.
Rising Stakes of the Story
Prime Video
“Game Over” and a skull and crossbones appear graffitied on a wall similar to the deco of the company in question, followed by a ring being dropped into a vat of molten metal and a man in an animal mask quickly turning toward the camera with a grunt. A squirming body tied tightly in a white sheet is tossed into the back of a van, followed by another sinister glance at Patoff seated in a vehicle and then the violent kicking of an employee as two of their coworkers attempt to subdue them. The trailer concludes with a drawn-out shot of Patoff offering something between a smirk and a scowl saying “That’s all!…” and turning to walk away. The trailer closes with the series title in a font and style mirroring Patoff’s name on his office window.
The premise of a faceless corporation lording over its employees and letting a Waltz-portrayed rabid dog off the leash makes The Consultant a series we simply can’t miss.
