/refers to all series/
For decades, the leading character in Swedish crime series was a strong man - Wallander and Beck are most known - but (apparently) in line with gender equality and growing number of policewomen, the time was ripe to introduce a respective female character, first Irene Huss, later Maria Wern. The result is not bad, not focusing on women issues, but providing different touch and angle into police work and communication. Similar to Huss, the books behind Wern were written by a woman, thus women are often both victims and offenders (no spoiler here, not always, you still have to guess... :)) The run and tensions are mostly high, there are intertwined actions present, with roots in the past, and guessing "who committed crime(s)" is mostly vexed. However, 90 minutes per series is a bit too long, for weekly showings 1 hour should do. On the other hand, they include nice overviews of surrounding and landscape - the island of Gotland in the film in question - which is picturesque and often at odds with severe crimes and felonies. I am sure, Gotland is not a criminal place in reality...
As for the cast, it is less catchy than in other Swedish series, there is no distinguishable supporting character such as Frank Wagner, Gunvald Larsson or Jonny Blom... On the other hand, the role of team playing is higher and the leading character does not spend most of the time on screen. Eva Röse is pleasantly attractive and witty, Allan Svensson, Ulf Friberg and Peter Perski provide suitable performances as well... However, it seems that Sweden has labour shortage among thriller actors as many of them appear in other series, creating confusion and make you ponder if you have seen this person is this series or somewhere else. Well, the outcome is not bad, but if a known actor appears in the beginning it is easy to guess that his/her character would re-appear and be involved in something important. Luckily, most of those actors have had opposite roles in different series, among the good and the bad.
But still, if you like a relatively calm thrill requiring constant look on the screen, the series is for you (preferably successively). And - as mentioned in the beginning - it is no women-only crime.
For decades, the leading character in Swedish crime series was a strong man - Wallander and Beck are most known - but (apparently) in line with gender equality and growing number of policewomen, the time was ripe to introduce a respective female character, first Irene Huss, later Maria Wern. The result is not bad, not focusing on women issues, but providing different touch and angle into police work and communication. Similar to Huss, the books behind Wern were written by a woman, thus women are often both victims and offenders (no spoiler here, not always, you still have to guess... :)) The run and tensions are mostly high, there are intertwined actions present, with roots in the past, and guessing "who committed crime(s)" is mostly vexed. However, 90 minutes per series is a bit too long, for weekly showings 1 hour should do. On the other hand, they include nice overviews of surrounding and landscape - the island of Gotland in the film in question - which is picturesque and often at odds with severe crimes and felonies. I am sure, Gotland is not a criminal place in reality...
As for the cast, it is less catchy than in other Swedish series, there is no distinguishable supporting character such as Frank Wagner, Gunvald Larsson or Jonny Blom... On the other hand, the role of team playing is higher and the leading character does not spend most of the time on screen. Eva Röse is pleasantly attractive and witty, Allan Svensson, Ulf Friberg and Peter Perski provide suitable performances as well... However, it seems that Sweden has labour shortage among thriller actors as many of them appear in other series, creating confusion and make you ponder if you have seen this person is this series or somewhere else. Well, the outcome is not bad, but if a known actor appears in the beginning it is easy to guess that his/her character would re-appear and be involved in something important. Luckily, most of those actors have had opposite roles in different series, among the good and the bad.
But still, if you like a relatively calm thrill requiring constant look on the screen, the series is for you (preferably successively). And - as mentioned in the beginning - it is no women-only crime.
