This same June 10 debut two of the great Spanish bets of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. From the first we get ‘Sinlimits’, a series that bets on the epic and an agile narrative to tell us the story of the first circumnavigation of the world, while the second offers ‘Intimacy’, which explores all the repercussions associated with a scandal caused by the leaking of a sexual video.
Created by Laura Sarmiento (‘Slaughterhouse’) and veronica fernandez (‘Hache’), ‘Intimacy’ is a series with an eminently female focus. Of course there are men in it, but the main focuses of interest are them, with the character of Itziar Ituño as the main reference, although this does not mean monopolizing the limelight. Here everything is quite distributed, which helps offer a more complete vision of such a traumatic experience.
A matter of focus
As in the case of ‘Limitless’, the first episode of ‘Intimacy’ is the least satisfying I’ve ever seen. In this case, I understand that a certain emotional coldness was necessary and that the tendency to isolate the protagonists makes sense so that they gradually open up later as they assimilate better and react to what has happened, but in exchange they make use of certain narrative resources that difficulty connecting with what he is telling us.
From the use of the voice in off, which is mitigated in later episodes, to some dialogues that They sacrifice any type of subtlety to function as a pylon hammer in the idea they want to convey. That removes a certain naturalness from the story, making it clear that what may seem like a great idea on paper does not have to be put into images as well. The blow of effect over the clear and logical narrative.
That’s something that still applies to the series afterwards, but at least it’s not so annoying. as several plot lines open up with elements more typical of an investigation but without ever becoming completely so. That balances the dramatic aspect by not focusing so much on the role of victims and giving them a more active role without ever forgetting their condition. In return, it sometimes uses too obvious elements to underline the latter.
There the series never shines, but at least that game between pure drama and thriller adds an added interest to the story. Of course, it seems very strange to me to have to resort to it as a point of support when the stories of these abuses should have more than enough strength to sustain ‘Intimacy’.
Weaknesses and strengths
And it is that in its own way of raising each of its central stories is where the main weakness of ‘intimacy’ is. There will be those who see here a critical and reflective look on the worrying reality of the guilt of the victims in such cases, but It takes more than a very powerful starting point.
Here, that vital burden that you must feel when something like this happens to you is transmitted very well -it is not my case, so I cannot be sure either-, but then two important problems arise. The first is that many dialogues are obvious to the point that it is very difficult to believe them. It is as if they were there to highlight ideas -or even morals- without worrying in the least that it is believable that they are said at a time like this.
On the other hand, ‘Intimacy’ suffers from some dispersion, partly because it develops several plots at the same time without finishing the link between some, but also because there are times when it feels somewhat artificial, and that is very difficult to pass for something in a proposal like the one we are seeing. occupies. Entiendo que se busque el compromiso con una causa, pero a cambio te puedes cargar la verosimilitud como te excedas.
In return, ‘intimacy’ has a great job of its main actresses, perhaps surprising Yune Nogueiras (‘Akelarre’) for being the least known of the six protagonists. However, the one that best manages to go beyond those vices that she mentioned in the script is Itziar Itunowho does not take time to control the situation and demonstrate that an active attitude is the best way that they do not eat you alive in such a scenario.
Also, technically and visually, ‘Intimacy is attractive, both for its good ability to take advantage of the exteriors – it is always nice that the series leave Madrid’s centralism aside to place the story in other parts of our country – and for the painstaking work regarding the interiors. It is noted that there is money, yes, but also that it has been used beyond its distribution.
In short
I wish I could say that I loved ‘Intimacy’because part of a very powerful idea and that is not sufficiently explored in cinema or television, and also does it with a cast of great actresses. Unfortunately I can’t do it, since it often goes too easy, it sacrifices subtlety for the benefit of direct punch and some of its dialogue seems to be the result of the first version they had of what they wanted to convey and did not polish it. However, she also has her virtues, but with this material she should have been much better.
