What does the title Deceitful Love mean? Explained

The six-episode Italian miniseries Deceitful Love was released on Netflix on October 9, 2024. Directed by Pappi Corsicato, this romantic drama series is based on the British miniseries Gold Digger.

The series revolves around Gabriella (Monica Guerritore), a wealthy 60-year-old divorcee and hotel owner, and Elia (Giacomo Gianniotti), a charismatic man in his thirties with a dark past. The lives of the two strangely become intertwined after Gabriella falls in love with the much younger man.

The synopsis of the series reads:

“After turning 60, a wealthy woman suddenly falls in love with an attractive and much younger man, but her family raises doubts about his intentions.”

The titular phrase ‘deceitful love’ effectively underscores the show’s central theme, as several characters, including Gabriella, grapple with the question of whether Elia’s feelings are genuine. This persistent doubt creates tension throughout the plot, culminating in a nail-biting court sequence.

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Deceitful Love: Deciphering the title

As per the online edition of the Cambridge Dictionary, the epithet ‘deceitful’ is synonymous with ‘dishonest,’ ‘untrustworthy,’ and ‘devious,’ among others. These adjectives capture the apprehensions shared by the principal characters in the series regarding Elia’s supposed love for Gabriella.

Elia is a thirty-year-old man who catches the attention of the wealthy divorcee Gabriella. She is instantly smitten by him, yet she tries to resist her romantic aspirations since the age gap between the two, coupled with the fact that she is a woman, would make any potential relationship between the two awkward.

However, Elia refuses to leave, and the two become passionate lovers. Their budding romance raises eyebrows, as many cannot rule out the existence of ulterior motives on Elia’s part. After all, he is a charming young man, while Gabriella is around thirty years older than him.

Those close to Gabriella suggest that Elia is pretending to be in love with her only because of her wealth. This explains why the series is titled Deceitful Love in English. Further, as the story progresses, viewers also start thinking that Elia’s ‘love’ for Gabriella is deceitful.

For instance, the arrival of the character Marina complicates how Elia’s character is thought of. On the one hand, he claims to genuinely love Gabriella, for the person she is and not for her money, but on the other hand, Marina is his ex-partner whom he abruptly abandoned, and now she is pregnant with his child.

Further, delving into Elia’s past reveals that he also abandoned his former business partner when things got tough. He fled the scene of the crisis, leaving his business partner alone to deal with the loaners.

If these were not enough, Marina and Elia’s own mother tell Gabriella that he is not a very good person, and one must not trust him. These revelations made across the six episodes hint at the possibility that Elia’s apparent love for Gabriella is a ruse to further his self-interests. In other words, it is a deceitful love.

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Deceitful Love is the story of an evolving man

Despite the ominous title, Elia's character arc in the series suggests that human beings, under the right conditions, are capable of changing for the better. By the end of the finale, Elia’s love for Gabriella does seem quite genuine.

Initially, it is true that Elia associates with the wealthy older woman for her money. For instance, he takes 450,000 euros from her, and while he uses 300,000 from the amount to invest in his new business, the rest he uses to pay off Marina, who is pregnant with his child.

This done, Elia and Marina have some intimate moments together, in which the former contemplates leaving the place for good. In fact, the duo sets off too, but midway into the mission, Elia turns back. He realizes that despite his initial selfish motives, he has fallen in love with Gabriella after all.

Thus, Deceitful Love is the tale of a complicated man. Towards the conclusion of the series, Marina assures Gabriella that whatever his motives in the beginning, Elia does actually love her. This overwhelms Gabriella, and she decides to spend the present with Elia.

As the series ends, Elia seems honestly happy to be with Gabriella. Thus, the deceitful love of the first half of the series gradually evolves into a bona fide romantic relationship.

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Deceitful Love: Streaming option and cast

All six episodes of the series are available to stream on Netflix. The cast of the series includes:

• Monica Guerritore as Gabriella
• Giacomo Gianniotti as Elia
• Emanuel Caserio as Stefano
• Denise Capezza as Marina
• Dharma Mangia Woods as Giulia
• Francesco Del Gaudio as Nico
• Geppy Gleijeses as Mario

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