The Wall (2019– ) User Reviews

Fast paced detective series

[laduqesa · 7/10 · 14 February 2021]

Episodes of forty minutes, cliffhangers, twists and turns. What more could one want to while away lockdown evenings?

Fermont is a grim place to live, behind a wall and with many of its facilities seemingly underground and needing to be ventilated by huge fans. This is what we see virtually at the beginning of the initial episode; something has gone wrong and the ventilation is wafting a terrible odour into the shops and corridors.

Upon the discovery of the cause of this, an experienced CID detective is drafted into take charge of the investigation from the local cops. Her sense of personal relationships is a disaster zone but she manages well enough with the young cop who's assigned to her as principal helper.

Various characters have murky motivations and pasts; some have perverted desires that become clear as the series progresses. The investigation is set against commercial and political malarky involving the local mine owner and his wife the local mayoress as well as the separate ambitions of their son involving some very shady activities.

It stands to reason that there are several false trails and red herrings but if one can't work out "whodunnit" by the end of episode four, then it's all going in one ear and out of the other.

It's easy watching and a reasonably well-directed production. Some of the personal relationships from before the start of the events in the series are to be swallowed only with a fistful of salt but in general one can let their unrealness pass.

I enjoyed the dichotomy between the claustrophobic, confining atmosphere of the small mall housing the cop shop, boutiques, bars and services against the vastness of the countryside and its hinterland, some of which can only be reached by "Ski-Doo", an iconic Canadian type of snowmobile.

I didn't binge watch one after the other, but saw it all within a couple of days and enjoyed it. It's eminently forgettable and the opposite of profound but there's nothing wrong with that. It's a series that did its job.

Easy Binge Watch

[nowego · 8/10 · 17 January 2021]

I had a feeling before even starting this one that I was going to like it a lot. Well I did, enough to watch all 8 episodes straight though with only small break.

Some will say it is predictable, and in some ways it could easily be seen that way, but it has enough red herrings to make it hard to work out. Plenty of suspects like any good whodunnit.

A good watch and the subtitles should not be a problem if you are not a French speaker.

If you are not hooked by the end of the first episode this is not a show for you.

8/10.

Nice to see a female-led police procedural

[jambalayaval55 · 7/10 · 18 August 2023]

I enjoyed "The Wall" in part because Céline Trudeau is at the forefront of the action, a gutsy, mature, experienced woman often outpacing her younger male counterparts. The storylines are interesting, and the settings are beautiful. (Plus, the language is so melodic for us non-French speakers.)

Each season's major crime is different, allowing Céline to shine, whether it's dealing with a small northern mining community's murders and mishaps, an urban environmental conference marred by murder or a trip down memory lane among her homefolks that unearths family secrets - literally.

If I have one complaint, it's that the story arcs are about 25% too long and tend to drag a bit. Solid editing could pick up the pace, keep the storyline intact and still allow the plots to develop and the characters to shine.

Predictable

[gallagherkellie · 6/10 · 4 September 2022]

Firstly, I'm confused about the main woman - we heard about a couple of things she did to her daughter but I was hoping for some bit explanation?? Instead it was glossed over and I don't understand exactly who she stabbed and why?

Apart from that, I could tell who the killer was within the first 3 episodes. There weren't really any twists.

The 2 affairs that were going on (both older women with younger men) weren't very believable. There also wasn't much backstory into why the cop was unhappy in his marriage and cheating anyway.

Not a bad show, it was easy to watch. The acting was decent. I just wish there was more explanation about some unanswered questions I had.

Edit: season two review - Again the main character isn't likeable and there's some silly unrealistic parts. It was an ok and easy watch until it became confusing with all the concrete and engineering talk. Her daughter Sophie is the most frustrating brat. And where is her CHILD? He hasn't been mentioned or seen this entire season. I found the killer to be predictable again this season. I'd give this season 5.5/10.

Lost its Way

[crumpytv · 7/10 · 23 April 2023]

Season 1 The started off fine, but you need a big woolly jumper just to watch. It looked so cold and bleak.

It is set in Labrador, Northern Quebec in French with English subtitles.

This first season is set in the mining town of Fermont, north-eastern Quebec, Canada.

Fermont's major structural feature is popularly known as the Wall, which comprises self-contained residential, commercial, recreational and educational buildings.

In La Faille the main protagonist, detective sergeant Céline (Isabel Richer), is sent from provincial capital Quebec City to investigate the murder of a stripper-prostitute, inside the Wall. Assisting Céline is local uniformed policeman Alex (Alexandre Landry).

Céline encounters her estranged daughter Sophie (Maripier Morin) who is married to the mine-owner's son Lou (Jean-Philippe Perras).

I was expecting this to finish around episode 4, or 6 at the latest, but it was drawn out way too long to 8 episodes.

By the end it all got so contrived and bizarre that it was very difficult to work out what it was all about.

Especially, frustrating was not knowing what happened to Lou and whether he was culpable in one or more misdemeanours.

got a bit monotonous after awhile.

[justgeorgeous · 6/10 · 27 April 2023]

I found season one was quite good 7/10 but s2 was a flop and i could not watch s3. The characters were weak and poorly acted. The whole thing was too much of the same.

"The Wall" is a crime drama series that revolves around a police officer and her team as they investigate various cases in Montreal. The series was created by Martin Michaud and stars Maripier Morin, Julianne Côté, and Sophie Desmarais.

I don't speak french so i had to pause play a lot to catch up with the subtitles at times. The french speak nearly as fast as the spanish.

S1 was entertaining, s2 was okay, s3, I had had enough of it and their fake stories that sound too unbelievable and poorly acted by some of the cast.

Excellent methodical Nordic noir-esk in Canada

[fraser-simons · 8/10 · 27 March 2024]

I have watched a crap ton of these kinds of shows and really like Nordic-Scandinavian noir procedurals because they tend to be more myopic, character driven, and tightly written-which this is. If you want overly dramatized twists so you can't guess the killer and wild plot beats with gorgeous, likable, actors for the partners, which 90% of these shows are, this is not for you.

This is for fans of the also pretty great Canadian show Cardinal, Midnight Sun, Mare of Easttown, Wisting. Personal, slow burn but well written shows. Not something as bombastic and shocking like Happy Valleys plot beats develop into or The Killing, The Bridge, Pagan Peak, with substantial sub plots. This is 8 episodes a season, much more tight.

The characters are flawed and realistic and the casting is subversive of type. Though, the leaders I would say are still quite attractive, the hotshot young one has a great character arc across the 3 seasons, and the relationship between the detective and him fits the show very well. The lead is only unlikable only if you don't like competent, confident and over 30. I don't need or want characters to be likable. I want them to be understandable and compelling in ways I haven't yet seen much of, or at all.

The writing is excellent. I always know who does the murder regardless of the plotting, it's just the way it is unless the show deliberately withholds information from the viewer. Instead, the red herrings and the investigation proceeds in such a way as to bring a very nice character arc and thematic crescendo, which is much preferable to me over a wild twist. Every character and every piece of dialogue is there for a purpose, even if you don't realize it until the last couple episodes, and even side characters are well written. They're dynamic, sometimes for descent queer rep, sometimes to hit a trope or to subvert it.

The acting delivers, though isn't academy award level, but far more serviceable than anything you'd be watching on mainstream. Very pleasantly surprised.

Interesting setting

[Pegasus-10 · 5/10 · 12 December 2021]

The concept of living in such isolation was much more interesting than the plot. I lost patience with the patronizing attitude of the lead detective and when she and her underling wind up in bed I felt the writers went off the rails. The motive for the killings seemed ridiculous, as was the dialogue where the police discuss the investigation. The woman police officer who did a lot of the forensic work seemed way too cheery all through the series. All in all, a misfire.

A Violent, Horrific Waste of Time

[theaantoniaskindle · 1/10 · 11 April 2021]

This was without doubt one of the most debased and depraved series I have had the misfortune to watch. It did not start out so bad. There are 8 episodes. By Episode 5, I had had enough. It is merely an excuse to watch men abuse women, portray women in degrading and dehumanizing conditions, blame the women for their situation, and in most other ways offend viewers sensibilities. A creepy town and a creepy plot. And I thought Canada was a pretty nice country!

Not the way to engage viewers

[qui_j · 2/10 · 4 December 2022]

The first episode starts off by providing little or no context as to exactly what's happening. To make matters worse, there are many characters who are introduced in rapid succession in the first few scenes, and no context is provided as to who any of them are, or what their roles might be. As the first episode moves along in a disjointed and disconnected manner, viewers are taken from one location to the other, with little in the way of continuity of dialog to even start to pick up the threads of the story. By the middle of the first episode, the confusion and chaos is proving so tiresome that there is loss of viewer engagement, and the correct course of action is to cease watching the bit of rubbish.

Disappointing predictable and overlong

[alanl06-662-77020 · 4/10 · 20 February 2023]

Yet another menopausal female detective but this time from French Canada rather than Skandi Noir . Possibly would benefit from blitz watching but frankly too slow paced ( nothing much happens in each episode ) and I'm pretty sure I have most of it worked out after the first 3 or 4 episodes but frankly not that interested in who did what to whom or why . Some reviewers mentioning extreme violence must have watched more than me and I may be tempted to watch the final 2 episodes when Channel 4 UK airs them just to see if I am correct in my theories as to the perpetrator or perpetrators but won't waste anymore time watching what goes on in the mean time .