At first glance, Devotion promises a lush, sun-drenched escape into taboo romance. The Italian drama, set against the aristocratic glamour of Liguria, wants to be a sophisticated exploration of adult desire. Instead, it often plays like a handsomely shot soap opera that mistakes brooding silences for depth and infidelity for liberation.
★★½ (2.5/5) Watch if you liked: Call Me By Your Name ’s aesthetic, but with less nuance; The Affair ’s premise, but with less grit. devotion, a story of love and desire
The series is visually intoxicating. Every frame drips with Mediterranean heat—crisp linen, antique villas, the gleam of the sea at sunset. The chemistry between Riondino and Giovinazzo is palpable in stolen glances and trembling hands. When the show allows itself quiet moments (a shared cigarette on a terrace, a hesitant touch in a dark room), it genuinely captures the ache of midlife longing. At first glance, Devotion promises a lush, sun-drenched