Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a damaged detective in a new crime drama on Prime Video called Deadly heat is something I would pay to see on the big screen. But this time around, if it does come out, I’ll have to settle for watching him investigate a murder in the sun-drenched paradise of Greece on one of the best streaming services in my home country.
Everyone loves a good mystery story, but Deadly heat will certainly be a welcome addition to the genre with its classic noir style and idyllic Mediterranean landscape. Shailene Woodley plays a suspicious woman desperate to uncover a murder plot in her husband’s family.
If the compelling trailer (see below) is anything to go by, then Deadly heat has the potential to be one of Prime Video’s best movies. On the Greek island of Crete, Penelope Vardakis (Woodley) hires private investigator Nick Bali (Gordon-Levitt) to investigate the alleged accidental death of her brother-in-law Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden).
Penelope is convinced that someone in the Vardakis family is responsible for the death of her husband Elias’ (also played by Madden) twin brother and can’t trust the local police because the powerful Vardakis family owns them. Through Nick’s interrogation, it soon becomes clear that Penelope could also face a grim fate if Elias discovers what she is really up to.
Deadly heat is certainly no Greek holiday, as Nick uncovers dark secrets and intense jealousies as the Vardakis family rule like gods. With suspicion, lies and feuds rife across the island, it’s clear that anyone could be a suspect.
What else should we know about Killer Heat?
Deadly heat is based on the 2021 short story by Jo Nesbø The jealous man, which follows a troubled detective with a flair for jealousy as he hunts down a man suspected of murdering his twin brother. But he has secrets of his own to hide.
Gordon-Levitt and Woodley reunite in Deadly heat after starring in the 2016 biographical thriller Snowden. In addition to Madden, Abbey Lee and Clare Holman are also present.
This isn’t the first time Nesbø’s work has been adapted into film, as Netflix has announced a new mystery thriller series Detective hole, which is based on the crime novels by Jo Nesbø about the legendary detective Harry Hole.
Meanwhile, Michael Fassbender played the role of Hole in the 2017 flop film The snowman, which got a horrible 7% Rotten Tomatoes score. But we’re sure that Deadly heat will be better received if the success of some of the streamer’s previous original projects is anything to go by.