"Pssica" has a promising beginning. I like the first episode, which is truly interesting and engaging. However, the series lacks good writing and technical refinement. For example, despite being a Brazilian production, the series feels like a dubbed film because the director or someone from the production team decided to use ADR.
Dubbing is inherently extremely problematic; no serious director likes working with ADR, and "Pssica" is an example of why direct performance capture on set is superior to ADR. But beyond the technical problems, "Pssica" lacks good screenwriting, starting with the characters' accents, which are forced and don't reflect the reality of the people of Pará. They could have done extensive research, but they prefer to rely on their own superficial understanding of the city. But that's not the biggest problem with "Pssica"'s script. Some dialogue conveys interesting ideas, but they're underdeveloped and delivered in a blatant and flippant manner. Sometimes I get the impression this script was written by a teenager who grew up watching HBO series and is trying to copy the style, but without the education and sophistication of HBO's writers. The worst part of the series is the sensationalism surrounding the violence. Like almost everything else in the series, it's portrayed in a flippant and forced manner, to the point of disgust. The series uses violence almost as the "basis of seriousness," but even this becomes pathetic and flippant. I held back from laughing at many scenes, they were so forced. In the end, "Pssica" serves as proof of Brazil's spiritual decadence. I feel sorry for the poor souls who watch this and feel the show's disgust, yet out of sheer ignorance believe in its value. The value of "Pssica" is psychological, because "Pssica" is not just a bad series, it is the reflection of writers and directors, that is, the collective psyche of Brazil is sadly connected to this decadent work.
