Don't Leave Me

There is nothing remotely competent about this supposed thriller. The lead female actress has an extremely grating, choking sounding voice, and I wondered who on earth told this woman to go into acting. I would have thought that a modestly pleasant sounding voice was the absolute minimum requirement.

The pacing of the show is very slow and the story could easily have been made in half the time. Despite its length, there isn't enough dialogue to answer some basic questions one would naturally have. I couldn't buy the instant deep renewal of friendship after we learn Elena's character disappeared from her friends lives 20 years earlier. Her relationship with Giulia struck me as forced and unnatural. We never get a real answer to the riddle of whatever drama took her away from Venice. Most of the time the series seems not to decide if it's a crime drama or the story of Elena, there's too much camera time spent on her but without much real character development. Although the setting is Venice and there's a fair amount of interesting camera angles, it always seems cold, overcast, and empty, and tourist-less as well. The sound effects and background music seemed intrusive, inappropriate and heavy handed. Worst of all was the way scenes from the present and past are all jumbled up together in seemingly deliberate obfuscation. It was hard work making it to the end of the series.