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A surprise inheritance comes with danger in ‘I’ll Give It All to You’

Harry November 22, 2024

Manuel Ortega (David Kammenos) has been living a near-perfect life in Paris for over a decade: his writing career has brought him fame and fortune, while his marriage to Aymeric (Alexis Loret) has been seemingly perfect. Later, Manuel is awakened by the police with the news that his partner has died in a car accident in the French countryside. This makes no sense because he was supposed to be on a business trip to Brussels, hundreds of kilometers away.

It turns out that Aymeric is a man with many secrets. The eldest was Aymeric Fabre de Castelmore, the son of a wealthy marquis who secretly inherited his family’s impressive estate and businesses. It’s not hard to understand why he keeps this a secret: His family is a collection of snobs and monsters; People are so homophobic that Aymeric does not even inform them that he is gay, let alone that he is married. She knew they would never accept her husband, and rather than endure their anger, Ortega cut them (and their assets) out of her life.

One of the most satisfying moments in this series comes early on; Having endured almost comically over-the-top insults directed at Ortega, when the will is read it is revealed that the rest of the family has been sidelined and Ortega has taken everything. Including the family’s Provençal wine estate. It’s more of a kick in the groin than a slap in the face to the rest of the family, especially Aymeric’s unflappable mother (Nicole Calfan) and younger brother Joffrey (Aurelien Wiik). It was the best job until Ortega arrived on the scene.

Their reaction and who they are in general is more than enough to convince Ortega that he has nothing to do with them or the (extremely impressive) property. But Aymeric was no fool and saw this coming: Ortega must remain in office for three months before he can escape his legacy.

So we have a rich estate, a powerful family driven almost entirely by conspiracy and intrigue, and a mysterious stranger who threatens to turn everything upside down (for them). This is a story that walks the fine line between Shakespearean drama and classic soap opera; I’ll Give You All This (based on Dolores Redondo’s best-selling novel) makes it work safely on both levels.

David Kammenos as Manuel Ortigosa in I Will Give All This to You S1. Credit: François LEFEBVRE/© François LEFEBVRE – FTV – CONFIDENTIAL

As the heroes go, poor grieving Ortega is suitably emotional, especially as the series continues and her grief is gradually replaced by a steely desire to get to the bottom of her husband’s death. There are many obstacles in his way – homophobia seems to be a way of life for many of the locals – but he is not a man to be deterred so easily.

More importantly, Joffrey and his mother are so relentlessly evil that even the slightest chance to see them get the payoff they deserve is enough to warrant watching this must-see movie. Did she name him Joffrey because she wanted him to grow up to be spoiled and evil? You can’t miss it from him.

And if you’re willing to forgive them for being left out of the will, it turns out not everyone believes Aymeric’s death was an accident. Many people actually don’t believe it, but his family is so powerful that they closed down all investigations into his death, much to the annoyance of the town coroner (Sophie Cattani) and cantankerous detective Richard Saugier (Bruno Solo).

He wants to solve one last big case before he retires, so he conducts a (highly illegal) private investigation based on what little evidence is uncovered before the case is forcibly closed. He does this job alone, but now there is another person in the town who wants to reveal the truth: Manuel Ortega. The situation begins to become even more complicated when it is revealed that Aymeric also has a younger brother who died mysteriously.

As the investigation continues, Ortega is confronted with even more hidden aspects of the man she loves. Aymeric may have kept his family out of his affection, but their scheming blood still flowed through his veins. Was his death intended to seize power from within his family? Was this revenge for something he did years ago? So if this was a murder, had the killer finished his deadly work or had he just begun?

All This I’ll Give You is now streaming on SBS On Demand.