4/10
Sufferable thing with some goods
30 October 2023
At first, when I saw the major rating here qualifying (as usual) that a erotic thriller was quite down I was thinking about the major issues some viewers have with similar projects where only a specific target audience will enjoy it (but they won't say a word in here, myself included) and others one who'll just label as another ridiculous thing. However, this one didn't get me and I could almost say the whole experience was bad but not really, there were some cool moments but the majority of it doesn't make it even watchable, it's more like skippeable, if needed just watch for the sex scenes or to admire to actor/actress you like. "50 Shades" and "365 Days" are guilty pleasures of mine, I can handle, but this one was tough to endure.

It comes from a book that apparently was a hit but I only heard about such after the movie. All the cliches in those genres are feature here: a hard working girl (Giovanna Lancellotti) falls for an insanely hot yet mysterious guy (Leandro Lima) and after that a series of dangerous situations will stand in between with things they discover along the way. Difference in this case is that pretty girl was already committed early in the story, with a cheater (Micael) of whom she abandons hence the original title that goes for "The Upside of Being Cheated" rather than Netflix international promotional "Burning Betrayal" (easy to be remembered).

The book of cliches is ridiculous and nauseating, all the characters are hot or pretty, all lives seem well except for a couple of things, sex scenes must have some seductive music (which usually makes things quite lame) and ultimately when the dangers come...you'll probably know of whom comes from since the writers fail to create an expanded deck of cards, meaning limited numbers of characters make the charade easier to solve. I knew it all along who would be against the scheme revolving the young lawyer and the judge.

The mentioned franchises had some positive stuff on them, there are softcore with better elements as well, but this one was problematic from scene one, really sufferable that I had to stop after a while and continue later on (and usually those films make you going all the way cause all the thrilling elements push you to it). I know the viewership of this around the globe but trust me, Brazil has made a lot better and sexier than this and on decades before - but I won't complain about the pairing here, they make a nice couple if you ignore their dialogues together).

The good things that came from here: the helpful friend/co-worker (Bruno Montaleone); her best friend (Camilla de Lucas), a nymphomaniac who gives her all the best advices and I loved her ending in the story (but you don't get to see her in action with the guys); and the mystery revolving the judge was pretty good and it didn't revolve about a childhood trauma that makes the man sees women in a different way. It felt something real and quite unique in terms of film, I must say.

Basic generic stuff, overdone and mostly boring with some spicy moment. Just went forward out of curiosity and got a somewhat waste of time. 4/10.
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