'Deceitful Love' Leaves Critics Cold

         On October 9, 2024, Netflix released 'Deceitful Love', which has received a negative reception from critics. In the series, "After turning 60, a wealthy woman suddenly falls in love with an attractive and much younger man, but her family raises doubts about his intentions." The ensemble cast includes Monica Guerritore, Emanuel Caserio, Giacomo Gianniotti, Francesco Del Gaudio, Dharma Mangia Woods, and Denise Capezza. But what did the critics say?

        Joel Keller of Decider says, "Deceitful Love has lots of sex, lots of foreboding music, and lots of overdramatic performances. Is it good drama? Not really. It’s a series about a woman who is finding her sexual self come back in force due to the attention of this mysterious younger man, the family who doesn’t approve of the relationship, and the man himself, whom nobody knows much about. It doesn’t feel like the show is all that complex, does it? There will likely be a lot of scenes of Gabriella getting railed by Elia, some arguments between Gabriella and Elia, then Gabriella and her kids, scenes of Stefano looking into who Elia is — more on that in a bit — and other soapy asides that don’t really contribute much to the story. Nico, the youngest, has identity issues, and Guilia, the middle child, keeps getting cosmetic surgeries for amorphous reasons. Do we care about them? Nah, not all that much. Of course, we’re all for seeing a woman in her sixties getting it on with a much younger man, because we really don’t see a lot of that, and Guerritore isn’t afraid of literally exposing herself to the cameras to make the story feel more realistic. It helps that she gives Gabriella a sexy confidence that seems to belie her belief that she’ll never fall in lust with anyone again." Adding, "The rest of the cast, including Gianniotti as Elia, we can take or leave. So much of the show is full of over-the-top melodrama that we were basically waiting for the next elegantly-shot sex scene and not really buying into the predictable story in between those scenes."

Photo by Jack Ward on Unsplash

       Archi Sengupta of LeisureByte.com notes, "From the get-go, it’s extremely creepy to watch just how persistent Elia is when it comes to starting a relationship with Gabriella. The latter is lonely and just a little sorrowful. With no one to share a life with and with adult children around her, her life in her Amalfi Coast hotel is clearly one that will invoke a sense of pity among viewers. Unfortunately, Elia’s presence is both mysterious and concerning but you do understand why Gabriella falls for his charms immediately. The creators made sure to let us know that Elia is hot – he constantly takes his clothes off to bask in the glory of his underwear and six packs, so much so that the frequency of it gets a tad bit uncomfortable for viewers. Sex aside, one can’t help but wonder about this obsession that everyone in the family has with Elia. From the youngest son to the mother, everyone is taken with the mysterious and probably criminal Elia and we can only wonder what’s in Gabriella’s past that is making her ignore the red flags around her. Condescending and controlling sons aside, something’s clearly not right here with the visitor and the series makes us work to understand the mystery behind everyone’s odd behaviours." Continuing, "I think the series brings forth an important point somewhere between Gabriella’s hysterics and her children’s apathy surrounding society’s view on older women dating younger men. We hardly ever blink an eye when the genders are reversed but things seem to always get unacceptable when a younger man falls for an older woman. Watching Gabriella find her liberation is freeing in a way, but the path to it is fraught with several hysterical breakdowns and a son who just can’t seem to mind his own business. That being said, Deceitful Love doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything particularly new with its saucy relationship or its mysterious premise. The hot and cold relationship between Gabriella and Elia is just so annoying – we jump from her hating him to loving him and then back again over and over. It gets a little annoying and Elia’s mildly frustrated look into the distance gets old very fast. Personally, the problem is surrounding Gabriella. The Italian series isn’t like its British predecessor and hinges on an unhealthy amount of drama to be anything resembling serious or introspective. There are a ton of inconsistencies and the twists and turns feel frivolous and half-baked."