Private Crimes (1993) ***1/2

Private Crimes (Delitti privati) (1993), a 4-part, 6-hour miniseries, is basically the Italian Twin Peaks (1990–1991), playing out as a super slow burn made-for-TV giallo. There’s a Laura Palmer-like character found dead by a river. There’s a Donna-like character who works at a cafe. Theres a James-like character with a scooter who's on the run. There’s a Blackie-like character who is a gentleman’s club owner. There’s a necklace found on the ground. There’s a diary. There’s a labyrinthine web of deceit, family secrets, red herrings, and affairs. It’s very melodramatic. This is the theme song!

There are more connections. We all know Italians love to rip-off other films/genres (in that charming way that they did, primarily in the 1970s–1990s). Usually it’s done in a super obvious, super low budget (but really fun) manner, but this show is a bit more subtle, a bit classier, and stands on its own merits. 

Giallo queen Edwige Fenech (who also produced) is paired once again with director Sergio Martino, with whom she made several excellent gialli in the early 1970s, such as The Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh (1971) (review), All The Colors Of The Dark (1972) (review), and Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key (1972) (review). Fenech has to spend a large portion of the runtime being sad and distraught—due to her character's daughter's death—which isn’t easy to do convincingly, and she gives probably the best performance of her career. 

While Private Crimes has the soap opera quality of Twin Peaks, it lacks the weirdness, but it’s still really enjoyable. Set in the beautiful city of Lucca, it's well directed, handsomely shot, the multinational cast is uniformly good, the music is catchy, and the mystery is engaging. Though the way the series wraps up is a bit underwhelming, there’s a somber, melancholic mood throughout that hits a sweet spot. I'm really glad that Severin Films released this series on Blu-ray; it was well worth a blind buy.