Non mi lasciare

I found this series to be riveting from the get go. The story was more than compelling and the writing was perfect. The directing was incredibly disciplined and beautifully artistic at the same time.

The subject matter is horrific and heart-rending but it was handled so adeptly, without being exploitive.

The actors were all at their very best, and thoroughly believable in their roles.

It is clear from the onset that Elena is driven by the case by some troubling force, which at times threatens to derail her investigation. But her belief in the case, and winning over her fellow detectives by her determination assures they will all pursue it to its end.

Her past relationship with fellow detective Danielle, and his marriage to her best friend, Guilia, adds a personal tension to the story, but only serves to more deeply develop those characters rather than interfere with the overall storyline.

Guilia, Danielle's wife and Elena's friend, for instance, delivers one of the most exquisite performances in the entire series, offering Elena exactly the genuine love and support she needs in order to see the case to its fruition.

The series is so very much worth the watch.

This beautiful cinematic series was painstakingly crafted using very realistic character actors, a superb cast, captivating storyline, wonderful locations, breathtaking views of Venice, mesmerising cinematography, highly creative editing and magical music that carried you throughout. A faultless production with tasteful artistic direction and excellent production values. Superbly written, directed and produced. Amazing ending ... the cast and story lives on ... should pick up many awards.

Most of the events take place in Venice - in a pearl of Italy - and the start was quite promising, but then odd relations, flashbacks and scenes began to dominate and the pace of events reduced significantly. True, towards the end of this miniseries main mysteries were explained, but the roundup came hastily in the second half or so of the final episode. Some scenes were anticipated and when it all ended, I did not feel content with what I had watched - in comparison with e.g. Rocco Schiavone, Signora Volpe, Commissario Montalbano - other Italian crime series focusing on a location outside major Italian cities.

The characters-performances in Non mi lasciare were not excelling as well, and I still have 2 main questions about the things that annoyed me (as many twists and turns emanated from them): 1) If a country/city has issues of street kids and running-off kids, why the wrongdoers took so much time and energy for luring their victims via Internet?

2) How-why the files of a closed and abandoned orphanage remained openly available to everyone - in a modern EU society with strict privacy rules?

So, although the Series is over the average, it is not a must watch.

Italian drama 'Don't Leave Me' is certainly stylish: how could it not be, with its attractive leads and Venetian setting? It's also solidly plotted and its characters have depth. It's also not without flaws: we have a team of super-talented police with instanteous tech and a ridiculously glamorous office; and a lot of the plot twists are very heavily flagged. The chase scenes are slick but never quite feel natural. And the basic idea, that a super-powerful gang are involved in a highly sophisticated scheme to abuse children, doesn't feel true to the tawdry nature of child abuse in general. It's certainly more than a by-the-book thriller; but it doesn't quite inspire the highest levels of emotional engagement.

Although we were initially concerned that the romance from the past would overshadow this series, it didn't. The cinematography was blissful and while at times the story seemed to move slowly, suddenly there was a plot twist making you sit up and go wow. We thought the last episode was just so moving and we still think about it weeks after.