Indeed, as its title suggests, the six-part miniseries is packed with melodrama, intrigue and, most notably, passion, giving Gianniotti countless opportunities to display his Men’s Health cover-ready physique.
Within just two minutes of his arrival, he’s whipped his clothes off, and the camera continues to lovingly gaze at his washboard abs and glistening torso pretty much every other scene. “You like being naked, don’t you,” his love interest remarks, not unreasonably.
Deceitful Love does have a compelling story threaded through all the unashamed ogling, though, and one that will be familiar to anyone who watched intergenerational romance Gold Digger back in 2019.
Yes, this is a remake of the BBC drama in which Julia Ormond’s 60-something, much to the horror of her three awful grown-up kids, fell head over heels for a mysterious millennial who may or may not have been after her money.
As the impossibly charming boat charterer Elia, Gianniotti is the man who sparks both a sexual reawakening and a bitter family dispute on this occasion. His meet-cute appears to happen by accident when, following a minor motoring collision, he seeks help from the nearest passer-by.
That just happens to be Gabriella (Monica Guerritore), a much older (and much wealthier) hotel owner who recognises an instant mutual attraction but is initially reluctant to act upon it. “I could actually be your mother,” she reasons, as the flirting starts to get a little more physical.
Inevitably, Gabriella’s hesitation soon gives into her lust, and the pair end up spending much of the series in various states of undress. In fact, there’s no problem that can’t be solved by some action in the bedroom. Or the swimming pool. Or the street. Or the sailboat, whose picturesque jaunts across the Amalfi coast make Deceitful Love just as much a tourist board ad as an erotic fantasy.
Still, it’s refreshing to see such an unapologetic reverse of the male wish fulfilment which typically dominates such steamy fare.
As well as being far more sexual and escapist than the English original, this Italian adaptation is also soapier. A seductive blast from Elia’s recent past is such a blatant troublemaker you half expect her to start a shoulder-padded Dynasty-style catfight.
There’s a tawdry affair involving Gabriella’s married eldest Stefano (Emanuel Caserio) and the private investigator he’s hired to bring his potential new stepdad down.
While at one point, a bizarre love triangle threatens to form when her pansexual youngest Nico (Francesco Del Gaudio) develops an infatuation which Elia seems a little too willing to encourage: none more so than in the seabound scene in which they essentially recreate Jack and Rose’s iconic pose from Titanic.
Take a shot of limoncello whenever Gabriella overreacts to an apparent betrayal, too – it’s almost impressive how quickly she can burn a man’s clothes – and by the midway point you’ll be in a drunken stupor.
However, like Gold Digger, Deceitful Love still tackles issues that don’t necessarily pop up in your average TV mystery: the idea female sexuality doesn’t completely subside when you’re approaching the free bus pass age, for example, and how society largely views such women as unworthy of desire, as shown in the flash-forward cold open, where Gabriella’s offspring are so certain Elia has an ulterior motive they even apply for a vulnerable adult order.
It also deals with how childhood trauma can continue to impact adult life, with flashbacks to the 1980s gradually explaining the tension within Gabriella’s family, including her ex-husband Mario (Geppy Gleijeses), a man who joins in with the shaming pile-on despite having previously run off with her best friend. Double standards are another recurring theme.
Of course, most viewers, particularly those in rainy England, will press play to watch beautiful people, both young and older, frolic and fight in sunnier climes.
In a year which has seen Nicole Kidman get into bed with Zac Efron, Anne Hathaway date a boyband pin-up and Laura Dern cosy up to the middle Hemsworth brother, Deceitful Love is a well-timed guilty pleasure which once again proves the May-December romance can be just as titillating when the roles are reversed.
All six episodes of Deceitful Love are available to stream now on Netflix – sign up from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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