Detective Montalbano (TV Series) Una voce di notte (2013) User Reviews

A Voice in the Night

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 2 November 2013]

Early in this episode Montalbano is almost run off the road by a dangerous driver; he meets the young man again at a petrol station and finds himself being threatened with a baseball bat. Naturally the inspector arrests him but this could prove to be damaging to his career as the man's father is a senior political figure. If that wasn't enough to worry about a local supermarket has been robbed and the manager complains about Mimi's line of questioning. Later the manager is found hanged and the local TV news accuses Montalbano and his team of harassing the man and driving him to suicide. The case is complicated by the fact that the shop is owned by the local Mafia family. Before that case can be solved the politician's son turns up at the station to report that his girlfriend has been murdered!

Once again 'Inspector Montalbano' provides some great Saturday night entertainment; there is a good mystery and a good number of laughs. There may be some clichés such as threats when politicians' family members get arrested and two apparently separate cases having some links but that doesn't matter when the story is well told. It looked as if Montalbano could be in real trouble at times… he even lost his appetite once! As always the cast do a fine job and the sunny Sicilian locations are a joy to behold on a cold November night in England! The only disappointing thing is the knowledge that there is only one more episode left… I hope that more are made.

Bleak but very well done

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 19 October 2017]

Love detective mystery dramas, particularly those from the UK and US ('Inspector Morse', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Foyle's War', 'Inspector George Gently', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Law and Order', 'Criminal Minds', 'Monk' and 'Murder She Wrote' for examples, and non-English/American ones (i.e. The Swedish 'Wallander' and the Danish 'The Killing') also fascinate me.

'Inspector Montalbano' is one of the best and most entertaining examples. It is not easy breathing freshness into a well-worn genre but 'Inspector Montalbano' manages to do so with aplomb. Watching 'Inspector Montalbano' is like eating a delicious Italian meal that immensely satisfies and leaves you wanting more. There may be very familiar tropes, but in a way it's inevitable and doesn't detract from the enjoyment at all.

There may be better episodes than "A Voice in the Night", but that it still manages to be a strong episode with not much wrong is testament to how great the show is and the high quality of the best episodes are. "A Voice in the Night" does fall into cliché territory and gets a little over-complicated at times. However, much of the ingredients that make 'Inspector Montalbano' such a pleasure are very present.

One always expects 'Inspector Montalbano' to look good. As always with 'Inspector Montalbano', "A Voice in the Night" is beautifully shot and the scenery is stunning, making those who've never been to Italy want to book a holiday there as soon as possible and is a treat for anybody who loves all things Italian. The scenery as always is atmospheric and the use of it very clever. The music is never over-bearing or low-key with a nice atmosphere and flavour, a lot of it is very cleverly used. The sound effects are remarkably authentic.

As ever, there is a very good mix of humour (not just from Catarella but also Dr Pasquano), nail-biting tension with the police's predicament and the Mafia involvement and humanistic drama that resonates. "A Voice in the Night" is one of the show's darkest and bleakest easily when it comes to the story, but still manages to be absorbing, tightly plotted and brain-teasing without being illogical (though parts are over-complicated). One worries as to whether the humour, especially when a little more eccentric to usual, would jar with this bleaker tone but it just about balanced right.

Characters may be stereotypes but well-written ones, especially one of the most fascinating foreign detective mystery dramas titular characters there is to me.

Acting is terrific, especially from Luca Zingaretti who is a treasure in the title role, having a perfect balance of comedy and drama and playing it straight while always engaging with his material. All the others are great, particularly Cesare Bocci and Angelo Russo.

In conclusion, a very well done episode but be prepared for the bleakness. 8/10 Bethany Cox