Review for ‘‘Marigold’’ by Luis Perez Villegas

The visual explosion of a pilot to Luis Perez Villega’s Marigold TV series blends the supernatural with a neo-noir version of reality that seeks to reflect a societal truth through the lens of magical realism.

Dreamy, transcendental, lynchian at times, the pilot spreads outwards from a meeting of characters in a sort of otherworldly therapy session from which spring interwoven personal stories of women, that despite their surreal and metaphysical nature, all reflect actual issues of abuse, femicide, betrayal and the destructive psychological effects of revenge. All this intermixed with traditional, cultural and religious elements of Christian worship in Latin America makes for an unsettling and poetic blend.

The visual merits of Marigold cannot be overstated. Top notch costumes and inventive makeup are punctuated by extreme close-ups of a very diverse and capable cast, which are often used to disturbing effect.Though its lighting may suffer from a lack of deep blacks and shadows, everything else is truly worthy of the series' budget. Furthermore, the music queues are spot on, and the pilot as a whole retains a stylish and effortless air that compliments its dark, sarcastic and larger-than-life storylines. Though camp at times, the acting definitely suits the series' atmosphere.

Extremely well produced and conceived, commendable for its almost all-female cast, mysterious and stylish, formulaic at times but also innovative, especially visually, Marigold's pilot leaves us wanting for more of Leon & Villegas's beautifully disturbed world.