Macarena is a teacher (it is also a dance, but that’s not relevant here) in a well-to-do secondary school in the town of Belmonte in Spain. She’s well-liked and respected by her pupils and her work colleagues alike, confident and sassy.
If you want to avoid spoilers, stop reading this article now.
But our first introduction to Macarena is not as a revered educator, but instead as a panicked and frightened woman, running through the woods to her car at night with blood on her hands. She drives to her school, breaks in via an open window and rushes to attend her daughter's flamenco rehearsal. That rehearsal is then disrupted by the arrival of the police, who announce that a school pupil has been found dead – at which point, Macarena does a runner.
This somewhat bizarre opening few minutes sets the scene for what is a quite curious thriller – the latest in the Walter Presents stable.
We cut back a few days to when, during one of Macarena’s classes, a cacophony of mobile phones start ringing all at once. A message has gone out to the entire school featuring video footage of Macarena having sex with an 18-year-old male student (who is also the son of her best friend, and her niece’s boyfriend), Iván.
The fallout from their affair obviously has huge implications on the school, their friends and both families, particularly given how close they were. But throughout, both Macarena and Iván seem strangely unapologetic and tight-lipped about the whole affair. However, the situation takes an even more sinister turn when his parents discover a diary, which would seem to suggest their affair started three years ago, when he was only 15. But is it true, or are these just the lustful thoughts of a horny teenager with a crush on his teacher?
Unfortunately, by the end of the opening episode, I really couldn’t care less. Macarena (nicely portrayed by Irene Arcos) is a cold fish who doesn’t really earn much in the way of empathy. And then there’s the sordid nature of whole teacher/student relationship thing, which feels uncomfortable – particularly as this is advertised in some places as a “comedy-thriller”, probably due to some mildly amusing wordplay. Nevertheless, a teacher accused of engaging in underage sex with a pupil isn’t funny ever, regardless of the circumstances or gender of either party.
Maybe I’m being too po-faced about it all. Frankly, had it had a better script and plot, I might have been more forgiving, but it’s very run-of-the-mill and disposable stuff. Virtually everyone is beautiful looking in a typically Mediterranean way – the women are all sophisticated and immaculate, and the men are handsome and smart. It’s more like a soap opera, to be honest.
I notice on IMDB that a second season is available, so clearly it struck a chord with some people – but not me, I’m afraid.
Walter Presents: ‘You Shall Not Lie' is available as a full box set available on Channel 4 Streaming now.
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