Upamanyu Biswas
Lifetime’s ‘Lethal Desire’ is a thriller movie centered on a married couple named Ava and Julien Chase, who are facing problems in their relationship. With their love slowly fizzling away, a new spark ignites when the duo comes across their neighbors, Mackenzie and Theo Davis. As the two couples grow closer, Ava and Julien realize that their new neighbors are swingers. Subsequently, the married couple decides to embrace the swinger lifestyle in the hopes of finding their passion for one another and saving their marriage. However, things go awry when Theo turns up dead, and Ava becomes the prime suspect in the murder. As a result, she must find a way to clear her name as dark secrets emerge within her community. The David Benullo directorial tackles themes of intimacy, infidelity, love, betrayal, and crime.
Lethal Desire Delves Into the Complexities of Relationships Through a Dark Criminal Element
‘Lethal Desire’ is a fictional narrative penned by Jesse Mittelstadt and Daniel West. The movie explores the inner dynamics of a couple’s relationship as it becomes rife with dark, sinister undertones after adopting a swinger lifestyle. Eventually, this bond spirals into a murder mystery with a web of lies, deceit, and conspiracies stretching everywhere. Although the film’s plot may be drawn from the imagination of the writers, its context can be found in real-life cases elsewhere. For example, in 2002, a woman named Joan Shannon was accused of having her army major husband, David Shannon, killed after allegedly falling in love with another man whom she came across at a swingers club. The murder was reportedly committed by Joan’s daughter, Elizabeth, who was allegedly acting on behalf of her mother.
While the events from the Shannon case don’t necessarily line up with Ava and Julien’s story in ‘Lethal Desire,’ it showcases the dark side of clandestine bonds and how they can spiral into acts of murder. The film forensically analyzes such a relationship, where feelings of jealousy, betrayal, and passion can be strong motivating factors for a heinous crime. Additionally, it also opens the door to examining extramarital affairs in general and how they have a history of their own. As the film’s title suggests, it is a cautious reminder of the intrinsic nature of human emotions and how they can quickly spiral out of control when feelings of love, attraction, and lust are involved. A combination of the three is often a recipe for disaster, as depicted in the film. Therefore, it crafts an original narrative while still illustrating some real-life themes.
Lethal Desire Likely Takes Inspiration From Other Thriller Films
The Lifetime movie is mainly concerned with creating an engaging and entertaining suspense-driven story. To that end, drawing from real-life sources may have been a viable way to retain some grounding in reality. However, some inspiration may have also been taken from other thriller movies with a similar premise. For instance, ‘Unfaithful’ revolves around a married couple in New York City whose life is upended when the wife begins an affair with a stranger. Subsequently, their relationship is jeopardized, with feelings of insecurity, jealousy, and betrayal creeping into the equation. ‘Lethal Desire’ may follow its own path when diving into similar themes, but the contextual undertones remain the same, offering a richer texture.
Another movie in which the swinger lifestyle plays a prominent role is 2014’s ‘The Loft.’ The film centers on five men who carry out secret affairs with women in a penthouse dedicated to their womanizing lifestyle. However, when a young woman is murdered in the loft, their lives come crashing down as they begin suspecting each other. Like ‘Lethal Desires,’ the movie dives into the paranoia and intrigue of a murder mystery wrapped in a complex web of secret relationships. The two movies may not map out exactly when comparing plot details, but the central themes are represented quite accurately. As such, a combination of real-life cases and other narratives may have inspired the narrative context and situation of the Lifetime movie. However, when debating its originality, it is a fictional drama divorced from any real-life events or preexisting material.
Read More: Lifetime’s Lethal Desire: Filming Locations and Cast Details
