This week in film (a not so typical review)

Two films worth a mention this week. DEEP WATER with Ben Affleck screening now on Prime and BAD VEGAN, a Netflix documentary series.

To follow is not a review per se, you can look up in depth reviews of these films/series. This post is just my reflection, from a writers perspective, and like anything it is just an opinion. We all like different things and for different reasons.

Let’s begin with the documentary series, BAD VEGAN.

For anyone who has seen the Netflix doco ‘The Tinder Swindler’, will relate to this, but for me personally, BAD VEGAN hits harder. It left me asking the question, why would you allow someone to manipulate you in such a way that you become a fugitive, lose all credibility and not to mention all your money and then some?

My conclusion: We will do anything for LOVE. It’s a very scary thought and even as an outsider, we can say ‘Nah, no fucking way would we do that.’ but the reality is, sometimes when we get drawn into that web of deceit, so much so, we end up in so deep we feel there is literally no way out. And after all we love them, and they love us, right?

So, yeah, that was my take-away. Sad, poignant, and heart breaking to learn that LOVE can be so beautiful and wonderful, but can also lead us down a very dangerous path.

This is the official synopsis:

From Chris Smith, the executive producer of Tiger King and director of Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened, comes BAD VEGAN: FAME. FRAUD. FUGITIVES., a wild four-part documentary series that explores how Sarma Melngailis, the celebrity restaurateur behind the glittering New York hotspot Pure Food and Wine, went from being the queen of vegan cuisine to being known as the “Vegan Fugitive.” Shortly after meeting a man named Shane Fox on Twitter in 2011, Melngailis begins draining her restaurant’s funds and funneling the money to Fox after he cons her into believing he could make her dreams — from expanding her food empire to making her beloved pitbull immortal — a reality…but only if she continues to obey his every request without question. A few years later the couple, now married and on the run after stealing nearly $2 million from the restaurant and its staff, are found holed up in a Tennessee motel by law enforcement. Their undoing? A charge made under Fox’s real name, Anthony Strangis, for a Domino’s pizza. BAD VEGAN: FAME. FRAUD. FUGITIVES. takes viewers on a journey more bizarre than fiction.

DEEP WATER, a sexy and psychological thriller starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, directed by Adrian Lyne, Oscar nominated for Flashdance, 91/2 weeks, Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal and Unfaithful.

Not since ‘Unfaithful’ have I felt so mesmerised by an erotic, and spellbinding thriller. Ben Affleck is his usual convincing self, that seemlessly pulls off that non-chalant type of character that you see in ‘Gone Girl’ or ‘The Town’.

Do you like him? Do you not like him? Can he be trusted? Why is he so calm and collected amidst what he is experiencing in his not so ordinary marriage?

All the wonderful questions you want to ask as the director and cast take you on a journey into a non-typical marriage and the Love story that is not all it seems.

From a writers perspective, the characterisation is in top form. As for plot, well there are some holes, but forgivable ones as the characters in this piece are so strong, it doesn’t matter.

By the time we get to the end, we are left wanting more. The true feeling of erotism, the wanting, the desire and the quietly unspoken love affair that runs deeper than you can ever imagine.

It’s evocative, erotic, and full of intrigue, with enough action to keep you wondering where is this going and what will happen next. I found the end very satisfying in a haunting, scary kind of way. The way that tells me that LOVE can be such a wonderful, yet dangerous thing.

It’s interesting that the two films I haven chosen both have that underlying theme of LOVE, deceit, desire and at what lengths or how far will we go for it?

It’s a great question? And will we ever truly know the answer because LOVE is a different experience for each and everyone of us

What do you think? Have you seen either of these films? Let me know in the comments below ⤵️

Until next time, with love from my 💜 to yours
Samira xo