I'm a big fan of both Myles and Mariah. I have to say, I wanted to smack Myles in this one-but damn, as evil as he was, he was sexy as hell. His character was just plain mean, deep down to the core. Brilliant acting-this is the best I've seen from him so far.
Mariah is such a talented actress. She really knows how to show emotion. The evil sister-or stepsister (don't most verticals have one?)-was truly horrible in the best way. Olivia, the one who saved Sam's life and to whom he feels obligated, had a whole crew of nasty, mean-spirited minions. Olivia herself was a bit over the top at times, and I think it distracted from her character. Also, she wore the same dress for most of the episodes, which made the production feel a little low-budget.
Teig, as James, was a great addition to the cast. I think his role actually helped elevate this into such a strong vertical.
The movie just keeps getting better as it goes. I was shocked by the twists. Myles and Mariah together are spectacular. Without giving away any spoilers, I'll just say I was on the edge of my seat-and yes, I cried. The story goes in so many directions and develops each character so well that you're tempted to skip ahead to the last episode just to see how it ends. Don't do it. The storytelling is brilliant.
Huge thumbs up to Ying Xiao as director and producer-other than Olivia's one dress, which slightly took away from the overall quality. Samuel's mother definitely needs to turn in her "mother card"-she was no kind of mother to him. And the actress who played Lily toward the end was very poorly cast. She dragged the film down from a 10+. Thankfully, her role was brief.
All in all, this is Myles and Mariah at their best.
