Some remakes feel necessary while others are tiresome; Faithless is a new limited series that falls into the latter category. Adapted from the acclaimed 2000 Liv Ullman film of the same title, Faithless is a Swedish-language limited series about an illicit affair that happens when two middle-aged friends, Marianne (Frida Gustavsson) and David (Gustav Lindh) pursue an illicit affair despite knowing they shouldn’t.  The relationship has reverberations that last for decades and may even be the characters’ undoing. And while a limited series gives us more time to get to know David and Marianne than we had in the original film, the material on offer doesn’t hold one’s attention well enough to justify the extra screen time.

The chief problem with faithless is its leads’ lack of chemistry. Marianne is married to Markus’ best friend, and the three are so close that Markus holidays at the couple’s family cottage after getting divorced. It is obvious from the beginning that a tryst between Marianne and David would have explosive consequences, but their connection feels tepid. When the pair share their first impromptu – and highly inappropriate – kiss, the plot suggests something erotic and irresistible is unlocked inside them, but the scene as pedestrian as a woman who walks to work…

The lack of discernible sizzle between David and Marianne  compels one to wonder, “Why can’t they just resist  each other?” Their banter is boring, their longing glances at each other lack depth, and I just don’t buy the show’s premise that attraction could last forty years. Some remakes are unnecessary, and Faithless is indeed one of them..