In the Backdrop of Glitz and Glamour, A Thirst for Revenge Brews in South African Netflix Series.
In the immortal words of the iconic Miss Aretha Franklin, “Great gowns, beautyful gowns.” That is simply what comes to mind when I think about my latest viewing of Netflix South Africa’s newest original series, Savage Beauty.
I understand that this will not be the popular opinion, especially judging from the response the production has received online; there is no arguing with the fact that it is on a league of its own in terms of design and packaging, which takes me back to my initial deduction that while Savage Beauty looks beautyful overall, they do very little to provide us with a story that lives on in our minds from the first to the last episode.
Created by Lebogang Mogashoa, the show announces itself as a force to be reckoned with on the streaming platform, trending on the Top 10 Most Viewed shows and staying there for days since it debuted on the 12th. While the show boasts a cunning premise, a star-studded cast and a crisp and glittery perspective where cinematography is concerned; the same cannot be said for how the story is told especially since the rest of the episodes do not live up to the splendor and tight grasp of the pilot episode, which was rather gorgeous.
Someone somewhere once said that on the quest for revenge, always dig two graves; one for the person you wish to enact your vengeance on and one for yourself. The same can be said about the protagonist of this show, Zinhle Manzini, a beautyful young thing with an untameable fire that hungers for the Bhengu family’s downfall. It is unclear as to why she has embarked on this journey on the first episode, despite her being the architect behind the scandal that sets this story in motion, introducing us to this family headed by Dumisani Mbebe’s Don Bhengu and his supportive wife, the calculating Grace Bhengu as matriarch, played by Scandal veteran actress, Nthati Moshesh. This is something that can be forgiven as pilots are meant to entice the viewer anyway, and Savage Beauty surely does entice — from being serenaded by the melancholic deep voice of SATV Music’s cover of Where Did You Sleep Last Night?, to the brilliant mirror scene, Zoe Modiga’s Abantu. It was a spectacle. You are glued to your screen and at the edge of your seat. It is great gowns, beautyful gowns.
My issue begins when the story starts unravelling. You would think with such accomplished writers at the helm, we would have a story that’s compelling and concrete; it would leave no room for people like me to pick and prod the things we dislike apart. I made a joke online that my problem with the show is basically my own, because I am the kind of person who overthinks and has been likened to an anxious perfectionist. I like to have answers and I like things to make sense, especially now being on the penultimate episode of the television series, I find myself still confounded by some things. Surely, the puzzle should be at a point where the picture is getting clearer by now. Right?
The premise behind Savage Beauty is literally a siblings’ quest for revenge from having been used as guinea pigs for unethical testing when they were younger, left with a bunch of other children to die in a fire; but they somehow escaped and tried to move on with their lives. It is many years later when their sister died from liver cancer, a side effect to having been tested on, that they decide to hunt down the people behind this atrocity and see to it that they pay. Zinhle goes undercover because, as it is known, things run smoother when one has eyes and ears on the inside. Thus enters our problem — mine, actually.
The show is reminiscent of shows like Mike Kelley’s Revenge which first aired many years ago where a young Emily Thorne infiltrates the lives of the Hamptons’ rich and famous on a quest to avenge her Father and clear his name; and the eTV series Umlilo with Nomzamo Mbatha and Hamilton Dhlamini (which is ironically produced by the same company, Quizzical Pictures). In Revenge, the protagonist goes in with a solid plan laid out and she simply executes it step by step. It is such a well thought out storyline that even when faced with challenges, she is able to tweak her plan and adapt to these changes, because the plan is there and with foresight she is able to accomplish what she had set out to do to begin with because it is a plan that has been years in the making. The same cannot be said about Savage Beauty’s Zinhle, played by Generations The Legacy actress Rosemary Zimu.
It is normal for a viewer, like myself, to worry about a character plunged in the lion’s den like Zinhle, and question the sanity behind such an action. Zinhle signs up to be one of the hopefuls chosen by the public to be the face of the beauty company, Bhengu Beauty, and by whatever means she actually succeeds. One would think that with such strides, she would walk into these people’s lives with a detailed outline or course of action; things to do to ensure that their plan comes to fruition. She does not. It disoriented me to realise that this girl knows just as much about these people as we do, which is to say, she knows nothing. She discovers things as we do, and for a story like this it is a disservice to viewers. I felt exactly the same way about this when I was watching Blood and Water. Some people can say that this intensifies the drama, heightens the viewer’s anxiety feeling like they are the same people they’re watching being forced into these dangerous situations, and this is a valid point.
To remove myself from sounding like a hater, I suppose, there are many things to like about Savage Beauty outside of my not gelling with the progression of the story. I have to particularly commend the actors for the outstanding level of acting, in particular Jesse Suntele, who plays the eldest son Phila Bhengu; his portrayal of the character was apt and resonant. That is one well-rounded character you cannot help but root for, especially in a slew of self-serving characters. Another person worth noting is an actress who’s never dropped the ball, who literally personifies the word ‘range’: Nambitha Ben-Mazwi. A formidable actress, this, and I look forward to seeing her receive her flowers.
Other actors on the show include Oros Mampofu as Ndu Bhengu, Angela Sithole as Thando Bhengu, Mpho Sebeng as Bonga Selepe and John Ncamane as Calvin Mamabolo but known cordially as Kolobe.
In closing, Zinhle’s single-minded drive to see the Bhengus ruined is arguably, I apologise for the contradictory twist, something to acknowledge. While she displeases me by throwing herself in the fire without thinking things through, it is something to commend how she sees to it that things get done — and this is seen when she starts seducing the patriarch, alienating him from his wife and pitting them against each other. That is the only time when I felt like this could actually work, that revenge could actually be hers. It sucks that the production dragged its feet too long to get to this point, one where most viewers who aren’t in tune with the pace would have long stopped watching.
Overall, it’s a show most people would (and did) like. The numbers don’t lie.
Reblogged for the purpose of this page from Nkeshyy Blog.
