‘Burning Body’ Netflix Series Review - The Art of Lies

Burning Body is about Rosa, a police officer who carefully plans out the murder of her boyfriend Pedro. The act was carried out with Albert’s help, Rosa’s ex-partner. This line sums up the whole series. The creativity with which Rosa lies and makes a fool of the Police for a long time makes the case a bit difficult for them to solve.

Rosa despite being married to Javi has a past of engaging with her co-workers. This sometimes has repercussions like Rosa’s marriage breaking off. The lady was never innocent and she never knew how to be loyal. Once the truth came out, Javi wasn’t ready to stay with her and he demanded their daughter, Sofia’s custody. After Pedro became toxic to her, she simply decided to kill him with Albert’s help. Another reason that the case was pending for so long was because Albert and Rosa devised a way to dodge the authorities. They kept blaming each other, and hence, they failed to catch them earlier.

Burning Body doesn’t have any mystery surrounding the death of an innocent individual. Right from the first episode, they have revealed the identity of the murderers. Now, the question that arises in the minds of the viewers after they revealed the same in the first episode itself is the motive of the series.

When the series began, the makers already informed the viewers that this was based on actual events. After an episode or two, I began to wonder what was it trying to portray if this wasn’t a crime thriller. The answer is the journey of the two criminals from where they started to cover their tracts to the day they were sentenced to jail times.

In my opinion, if the makers had opted to portray it as a crime thriller, it would have been more interesting and engaging. With the eight episodes of a duration of 45 minutes each, we are made to get well-versed with the culprits and their art of lies.

Rosa was a genius and manipulative woman and there was no way that Albert could have seen beyond the web laid down by her. In the first few episodes, we see her extramarital affairs and her expertise in handling her marriage and matters. She has to be awarded the title of Master of Lies as not only did she hide her one experience from her husband, but there were many.

As we’re told that this was one of the most discussed murder cases, it must have amused the masses. A cop is accompanied by another to kill her boyfriend. Speaking of the engagement of Burning Body, it did an okayish job. How Rosa’s past has been depicted which indicated her involvement was a good manner of introducing the part.

The master scheming and other elements of this crime like the courtroom drama have been very well performed. The only thing that could have been better was presenting the series as a crime thriller. I’m impressed by Úrsula Corberó's work as Rosa. She carries the burden of the show and her hard work is reflected on screen. The other cast members also did a good job.

At the end of the series, the audience is also told about the current details of this case like how Rosa’s re-appeal was denied. To sum it up, Burning Body is a good watch if you enter without any expectations. Once you successfully watch the first two episodes, the interest starts to peak as the audience will get eager to know about the character’s past. Initially, it might look a bit confusing, but Burning Body is worth the wait.

Final Score – [7/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
Follow @_riyasinghhh_ on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times
Premiere Date: September 8, 2023, on Netflix