Review: Netflix's Lord of the Flies Adaptation Drowned in Arty Excess

This article critiques Jack Thorne’s four-part Netflix adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, directed by Marc Munden. The reviewer argues that the series suffers from bloated artistic pretension, including excessive use of fish-eye lenses, slow motion, and bombastic music, which obscures the brutal clarity of the original 1954 novel. While critics have praised the script as a companion to Thorne’s previous work Adolescence, the author contends that the adaptation feels like aesthetic showing off, resulting in poor audience scores. Despite the directional flaws, the performance of the untrained child actors is highlighted as the series' saving grace, grounding the story in empathy. The review analyzes the portrayal of key characters such as Piggy, Ralph, Jack, and Simon, noting how the series shifts focus from the novel’s streamlined narrative to extended backstories. Ultimately, the piece suggests that Thorne’s attempt to reinterpret the novel’s themes on human savagery fails to capture the source material’s profound simplicity, replacing it with sentimental and visually overwhelming distractions.