Alice Oscura – Featured Writer
It’s a two-fer ladies and gentlemen! I decided to do a consolidated review for Netflix’s Intuition which was released in May 2020. It is the prequel to Perdida which was released in 2018 by Netflix, and I think in covering both movies together you’ll get the gist of the whole thing in one neat package courtesy moi! So, without further ado…let’s hit it!
The two films both have the same female lead – Argentinian actress Luisana Lopilato stars as police officer, Manuela Pelari aka Pipa. If she looks awfully familiar it’s because she’s the wife of crooner Michael Bublé, they have been married since 2011. They met whilst filming the music video for “Haven’t Met You Yet”. Unfortunately, their oldest son, Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer hepatoblastoma in 2016. My thoughts are with you guys and I wish you all the best. Praying for little Noah to get better soon!
Perdida
The character Pipa is extremely dark and brooding which is basically a front to disguise the immense pain that she is hiding. In Perdida, Pipa is still coming to terms with an incident from her teens, where her best friend Cornelia (Amaia Salamanca) mysteriously disappears during a school trip to Patagonia. Pipa blames herself and has never been able to move on, still suspecting that Cornelia might be alive. She attacks her cases with an over-zealousness that causes a bit of friction with her fellow officers. When a mysterious picture of Cornelia shows up at her memorial, Pipa once again re-opens the case and begins the hunt to find out what happened to her.
What makes Perdida a bit different to most thrillers is the fact that there are two remarkably interestingly damaged female characters who play off against each other well. It gives a whole new meaning to best friends turned mortal enemies. The film also highlights the sensitive human trafficking issue of sex-trafficking and its long-lasting damaging effects on a victim. The film is brilliant in its use of these two very complex characters whilst maintaining the perfect pacing between flashbacks and current events. The climax of the movie will have you at the edge of your seats and you will definitely not be disappointed with the outcome.
Perdida Rating: 7/10
Intuition
Intuition or La Corazonda is the prequel to Perdida. We see a younger, inexperienced Pipa taking on her first official case, as the partner to an unorthodox detective named Francisco Juánez (Joaquin Furriel). They investigate the murder of Gloriana Márquez (Delfina Chaves), a teenager who happens to be the daughter of a supermarket magnate. So the pressure is on to solve the case as quickly as possible since money talks, but Pipa finds herself being forced to doubt her mentor, Francisco, when she ends up having two mysteries to solve simultaneously. She must find a murderer and prove Francisco’s innocence before the higher-ups decide to take matters into their own hands.
The film unfortunately doesn’t have the same steam as its predecessor. The pacing is not as smooth and the editing is a bit choppy. The mysteries are good, it’s just that the execution doesn’t quite stick the landing on this one. Sometimes I caught myself looking at the time and as a viewer that a big no-no for me. A thriller that’s got me looking at the clock? I didn’t feel the same fire and passion coming from the actress, Luisana Lopilato, on this one, and I have a suspicion that it may be the underlying personal turmoil of her son’s health issues. She didn’t seem as focused on the role, sadly, and I greatly sympathize with her. On the other hand, her co-star Joaquin Furriel (The Son, 2019) did manage to pick up some of the slack for her with a stellar performance as Detective Francisco. This new character really piqued my interest, and I would not be disappointed if for some reason they were to continue with the series and do another installment that shows us a bit of his back story as well.
The climax felt a bit forced for me and did not have that “Aha” moment that we all look for in a good thriller. Not a bad effort and it is entertaining in its own right, I just happened to prefer Perdida.
Intuition Rating: 6 out of 10
For my review of Offering to the Storm, the conclusion of the Baztan Trilogy, you can click here. And for more thrilling film reviews you can like and follow Redmangoreviews on Facebook here.
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump.
I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. You can find me as Dark Alice Reviews on Facebook, my Instagram is alice_oscura and my Twitter handle is @lise_veliz2. For more on me you can click here.