Dark Desire Review: A Total Narrative Disaster!

Before I give you my thoughts on the Netflix Mexican thriller-drama, Dark Desire (Oscuro deseo), let me describe the entire execution of this show through an anecdote. Imagine traveling from India to Sri Lanka, the best and the most rational way to proceed is by taking a flight from Chennai to Colombo and complete your journey with two hours. Dark Desire Review

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However, if you’re utterly brainless, and have a boatload of cash. You can begin from West Bengal, reach Bangladesh, relax for a while in Myanmar, have a much-needed body massage at Thailand, waste some time in the Philippine Islands, make your way to Papua New Guinea, cruise around Western Australia for a week, talk shop with the Malaysians, and then leisurely make your way to Sri Lanka. And in the same vein, the asinine narrative of Netflix’s Dark Desire beats around the bush most of the time and lingers on for eighteen complete episodes, which will definitely make you reflect on the decision you made to start watching this show.Dark Desire Review

The narrative of Dark Desire begins with Alma Solares (Maite Perroni), a married professor at a law school reuniting with her close friend Brenda, for a girl’s night out. Subsequently, unhappy with her marital status, Alma, giving thought to her friend’s suggestion, has sexual intercourse with a random guy in his early 20s and enjoys her night without creating a mess. However, the day after, her friend, Brenda, reportedly commits suicide in her home as the remainder of the series explores the fact if she really did take out her own life or the whole situation is a big sham.

Now in the modern era, where Netflix and Amazon Prime Video maintain a proper threshold of at least ten or fewer episodes per season, it is indeed a daunting visual and an uneasy thought of getting through 18 episodes in a single season. However, if the show provides an engaging narrative with a swift pace and intriguing characters, the process of watching might turn out to be exciting and satisfying on the whole. And this is precisely where Dark Desire shoots itself in the foot by dragging its primary plot point far too long without making much sense in the process.

The screenplay, which is the most significant element of any thriller-drama presentation falters as soon as the show advances towards the end goal, and is an all-around disaster. The entire process of utilizing substandard cliffhangers which lead to nowhere, an abundant amount of dream sequences, the seemingly “exuberant” poetry which does not make any sense and many more add close to zero weight to the show from the beginning to the end.

Furthermore, rubbing more salt to the wound, the characters of the show belong to another level of inanity, because close to everything they say, do and think, do not remotely offer any logical rationality. None of them possesses a likability factor, or you will not have any desire to root and get behind their individual struggles. And that says a lot about the writers of the show, that even after a stretch of 18 episodes they did not manage to write a single compelling character who the audience member might be interested in.Dark Desire Review

The performances and the cast of Dark Desire are at least on-point and did their part remarkably. Maite Perroni as the primary lead handles her character flawlessly with her alluring performance and Jorge Poza as her husband complements her screen presence well alongside Alejandro Speitzer. Erik Hayser is, in my opinion, the star of the entire show, and his character offered a few interesting layers through and through. On the technical side of things, the production design coupled with the camera work and the colour palette they selected for the entire show seemed extravagant and blended in with the vibe of the show.

Overall, while I understand the entire point of the show is to showcase how secrets and lies can only lead to more perjury and deception, Dark Desire completely drops the ball when it comes to the execution. The screenplay is a mare’s nest of multiple issues from rationality and logic which will throw you off guard, disinterest you and ultimately make you fall asleep. If you’re looking forward to watching the steamy scenes, skip past through every ten minutes of the show cause there are a ton to provide you with a rhapsodic feeling (if you know what I mean!). If not, stay away from this trainwreck. Watch ‘Dark Desire’ on Netflix here.

Rating – 1.5/5 | Grade – D+

Images via Netflix

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