Dark romance is a genre that I have had trouble with because I don’t necesarily get it. I am not judging those that love it – to each their own. I think that Hollywood has their own issues with Dark Romance and I also do think that it is justified. However, that depends on how dark the romance goes and if there is redemption for the characters that are the darkest of the dark.
My Dark Romeo is pretty dark.
John Jamieson Michaels and Gabrielle Faith Brown star in the adaptation from ReelShort. The book, written by L.J. Shen and Parker S. Huntington, is something I picked up after watching the series, and I had to sit for a minute to think about this review. Ultimately comparing the ReelShort adaptation to the book, the ReelShort adaptation is light years ahead of the book.
Because the book was not great.
But the adaptation was something that I quite enjoyed. Sure, there is a lot of sexual tension in it and the plot (to a point) is lacking, but John Jamieson Michaels and Gabrielle Faith Brown make this a good one.
John Jamieson Michaels took me a second — in other verticals — to get used to.Now However, here, I found myself all in. Hating his character of Romeo and then finding myself wanting to wrap him up in a hug and protect him, telling him that all will be okay. His Dad is total trash, stealing his girlfriend, and making Romeo believe that no one will ever just love him and he’s never going to be enough.
You see because of the things that Romeos father has put him through, he doesn’t want to ever do anything that could carry on the lineage. He wants to give up on actual sexual intercourse. He’ll do everything but that with his wife Dallas.
Not to mention, the only reason that him and Dallas get married is because he made sure to defile her publicly, as her fiance Matthew Licht, had messed with his business. I guess whats fair is fair – you know if it didn’t have to do with peoples actual emotions and screwing up peoples lives.
Dallas Townsend is a spoiled brat. She cares about sugar and cake and having kids. She doesn’t like Matthew and she doesn’t like Romeo, but she does love the way that Romeo makes her feel. He awakens her lust for pain and touch and well some pretty strong hormones. Girl is insatiable.
The two seem to go round and round over and over to see who is going to outsmart the other. He knows that at a certain point she’ll win, but he’s going to prolong that as long as he can.
The whole series is a game of Dallas trying to sleep with Romeo and Romeo trying to avoid having to do that. It’s watching the two fall in love and finally teaching each other about things that they didn’t realize that they needed to know.
It’s a game between Matthew and Romeo to outsmart each other and screw each other over. It’s a game of teaching each other that sometimes people stay and that sometimes they love so deep that they won’t give up on the other person.
Now, while I would love to tell you that the show is perfect, it’s not. Like many vertical dramas, it is sometimes hard to follow the timeline. What seems like it could all be happening the same day is sometimes weeks in between and that is hard to follow. But that being said, there are reasons why this adaptation is better than the book.
First, there feels like there are a lot more layers to Romeo Costa in the show than the book. In the series, we see a man that is growing and his inner dialogue is proving that. Granted he takes quite a long time to become vulnerable and more than the pain of the past.
And I honestly feel that part of the strength of Romeo was because John Jamieson Michaels continues to grow so much as an actor. With every vertical that he stars in, the actor continues to push himself, showing more emotions, complexity, and also vulnerability. He acts with not just his words, but also his body – which he hasn’t done in all mediums.
Gabrielle Faith Brown has shown that she’s an actress that will do anything and that isn’t a bad thing. She’s pushing her own boundaries and making sure that whatever she does she falls right into the character and suddenly, you forget that you’re watching an actress. You believe that she’s the role that she plays.
My Dark Romeo was a lot of mental anguish, manipulation, sex, and growth. The series is worth the watch. The book worth the read? Not so much.
