Fortune Seller: A TV Scam review- A mother-daughter’s thrilling tale of deceit that could’ve been told better

Just by the inherent intrigue in its premise alone, Fortune Seller: A TV Scam, had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, the makers seemed to have dropped the ball when it comes to execution.

Fortune Seller: A TV Scam

Story:

Wanna Marchi and Stefania Nobile had built their business empire through their ability to sell almost anything on television. Starting out with skincare to iffy weight loss creams, the charismatic duo had went on to sell lucky numbers, talismans and a host of ritualistic ‘services’ which they claimed could rid one of the negativities in one’s life. Despite several impediments, the duo had always managed to weather through and keep their businesses growing, until they took it too far.

Review:

Wanna Marchi’s ascent to becoming one of the most recognised faces in the world of Italian television had all the elements of a riveting crime thriller. Her tale, from being a recognised TV personality to being found guilty of scamming millions of people, is told in the four part Netflix documentary series, Fortune Seller: A TV Scam.

Marchi had started off her career as a beautician, using her experience in the field to start her own line of makeup and skincare products, and then selling them on the radio and television marketing channels. With blunt proclamations about how the ‘ideal’ woman should look like, and how her products could help her viewers achieve the almost impossible standards she set, Marchi seemed to prey on the insecurities of women who watched her show. And soon, she was joined in her endeavours by her daughter, Stefania Nobile.

The mother daughter duo’s slow ascent into becoming two of the richest telemarketers in all of Italy witnessed a fair share of snags. From having their shop set on fire to having to declare bankruptcy, the duo’s business empire was on the verge of destruction many times; and Marchi and Nobile seemed to bounce back from the obstacles with renewed enthusiasm every time. But the two seemed to push their luck when it came to their final business venture, marketing ‘lucky numbers’, talismans and rituals ‘guaranteed’ to vanquish all the negativity in a person’s life. After having earned a fortune from their dubious business, the duo’s luck started to run out.

Just by the inherent intrigue in its premise alone, Fortune Seller: A TV Scam, had a lot of potential. Marchi’s story, as well as the TV veteran’s colourful personality definitely were potent enough to spin a riveting documentary upon. Unfortunately, the makers seemed to have dropped the ball when it comes to execution.

The writing definitely tended to lose its way on numerous occasions, with it seeming like many of the chapters in Marchi’s story being randomly stitched together sans a proper order that makes sense. The part about Marchi’s run in with someone with a criminal past in particular seems to bear the brunt of the disarray. The result is, what could have been a compelling and gripping phase in Marchi’s story ends up seeming very out of place in the overall story. Viewers are offered little to no closure about the same, and it becomes hastily wrapped up. The docuseries also can be found guilty of teasing one into believing something huge is just around the order, and failing to deliver on the same, on several instances. The involvement of Marchi’s husband in her downfall, and Stefania’s strained relationship with her father, were other avenues that offered a lot of potential to make the documentary a lot more intrigue, which the makers ultimately did not choose to explore.

The slow pace that the series takes in getting to the meat of the story, Marchi and Nobile’s scam of selling luck, does not work in its favour either. The mother-daughter’s duo’s last set of scams, which finally lead them to jail, does not figure in the story until the halfway mark, and that is where things finally start to get interesting. Marchi and Nobile’s remorseless retelling of the scam, which led to financial ruin for many, makes for an intriguing narrative which should have been highlighted sooner than it was.

Verdict:

Fortune Seller: A TV Scam had all the makings of a riveting documentary about a business empire built on deceit. But despite the intriguing material, the execution and writing fails to capitalise on the inherent intrigue of Wanna Marchi’s story.

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