The Blind Bride Of The Scarred Mafia Boss

starring: EMMA ALMEIDA & RYAN LARSON

The Romano and Batiste families form a fragile alliance with the marriage of blind Eleanor to scarred mafia boss Alexander. Eleanor plans to avenge the death of her brother Matteo, but is all as it seems?

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Well this is very good from @vigloo_official @stephtablizo and a real attempt to move the Mafia genre forward

A world is built here, thanks to the amazing production design, and hair, costume and make up. It looks stunning.

Plus we have 2 great leads, the ever reliable @ryan_t_larson in one of his best roles and fantastic new find for Verticals @emma_almeida. She brings a grace and is mesmerizing on screen

Thankfully the character of Eleanor is well developed and comes into her own in the latter half of the story, a powerful partner for Alexander, and they bring a great mix of idealism and resolve to build a different life for themselves going forwards

My main grumble though is we rush past the falling in love stage, so that the story can focus on their love being tested. I like the falling in love stage best so did miss that.

I was actually more interested in all the surrounding characters

Lorenzo @michael.vassi whose devoted loyalty drives him to make some bad decisions

Serena @55555leah - I would have loved a scene where she confronted her father about lying to her. And it was great seeing 2 women work together in a vertical rather than endlessly tearing each other down as is standard. More sisterly relationships like this please

And Marco @mattdixonofficial who really should be rewarded for his unswerving loyalty

Plus one of the best villains, the brooding menace of Mr Batiste. There was a Tony Soprano vibe, that he would have no hesitation to do the very worst to protect his way of life.

Such a good character and I can't find the actor, help

All in all this is a great vert, and a real step forward with ideas and quality.

Now it did lag in pace a little bit for me. And I worry because I think this is a sign of how verticalised I have become. Am I too dependent on the dopamine hit? That if a story has time to breathe I then struggle to pay attention?

It's something I am going to ponder more. Because I can see this vert delivers a lot of what we have been asking for as fans, but then I am left craving a bit more of that dopamine hit.

Not sure what the answer is here....to think upon some more.

💖 Top swoonworthy moment:

I do feel we rush past the falling in love stage, to Eleanor and Alexander being a couple. Then we have a great power couple who clearly adore each other. But would have loved it to have been made a little more clear why they fall for each other in the first place.

🦹🏼‍♂️ Top villain award:

Mr Batiste - brilliantly written and brilliantly played. Great example of how you can have a powerful villain in a vertical who doesn’t need to be OTT.

😂 Comedy gold:

No comedy here as played straight. Instead kudos to the stylist for all the details, the house coat of arms, having these sewn onto the jackets, all the costumes. It looks immaculate, and builds a very specific world and feel.

🎺 Unsung hero:

I can’t decide between Michael Vassi as Lorenzo who gets a redemption arc, and Leah White as Serena who brings a really interesting sister dynamic for Eleanor, and again gets a very satisfying ending.

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director: Steph Tablizo | 2025

Available on Vigloo