Outlier (2020– ) User Reviews

Slow, Psychological thriller. Ultimately worth it.

[the_hawk8 · 6/10 · 20 August 2021]

Ultimately this show is worth it. It is very slow in parts. I mean even for a Nordic drama it is slow. It does have a decent pay off, but they could have sped up the pacing some.

There are several large plot holes. If you can forgive a few glaring "no way would the police allow that" moments and the pacing you will be fine.

Really though Maja was guilty of the same thing she was blaming the local police for. So maybe she doesn't know everything?

Very mixed bag, mostly strong script but sloppy production

[rlaine · 7/10 · 13 April 2021]

I caught this on HBO Nordic as I dig nordic noir (this isn't noir really tho). I enjoy northern scenery and have visited north Norway a few times so why not.

The story is about a small Norwegian town, missing/dead girls and a woman who has moved aboard to study serial killer profiling and now returning to her home town to help the local police and apparently facing her own demons of the past while at it. While the town itself is small we are talking about vast spaces panning hundreds of kilometres and three countries, which makes up a subplot of local police resources on what to really investigate and put resources on.

The script is mostly strong and interesting. I was gripped and I think it's pretty convincing with details and broad strokes. It's also pretty dark story even tho it mostly happens in summer when it doesn't get dark at all. The script is not perfect either tho, but it's interesting. I did sense a bit of a feminist attitude in the script, but it's mostly just a line here and there, not pasted over whole production.

Despite the strong story, it's sad to say that the production, direction, editing and acting are strangely amateurish most of the time. The overall look of the series is very neutral, even boring and the acting is mostly quite bad in a strangely neutral and realistic way. I'm leaning to think that it's just unintentionally amateurish.

There's a low budget feel all over the production, actors use same clothes throughout the whole series, looks like everyone uses the same laptop, one scene caught my eye where a characters mouth was moving while the audio had other person speaking. And so on..

I didn't mind the slowness others have mentioned. I did mind the production values and some script decisions, but overall this was a winner because I really wanted to watch it episode after episode and finished all in four days. There's been many series with better production values which haven't held my interest even nearly as well.

Decent enough

[nicholas-610-899841 · 7/10 · 10 August 2021]

Don't understand the 'bad acting' comments. I've seen many Nordic/Scandi shows and I need the subtitles. Perhaps it's hard to judge properly but the voices have all the right tones and pitch for the lines I'm reading and the on screen events at the time.

If it's bad acting then all of those shows would be full of bad acting.

I did think that when the lead character was speaking English it didn't sound quite right, but that could just be because it was a second - or third - language.

This is an area of few people, few resources, old fashioned attitudes and so on. I think people are mistaking the characters and their attitudes for bad acting.

Good European Crime Drama

[lawnmorgan · 7/10 · 25 September 2021]

I find most of the Scandinavian crime dramas and psychological thrillers to be very well acted and written; Outlier is no exception. It kept me interest in ways most American shows no longer do.

Well done but not for everyone

[merseybeat1944 · 5 August 2021]

The review posted here 21 July 2021 says it all. All of the SLOW comments are probably from the point and click generation raised on rapid fire camera work and lots of blood.

Interesting but let down by a poor ending

[gtbarker · 6/10 · 21 October 2022]

The lead up to the finale was interesting and engaging. The shrink with her issues and the criminally incompetent head of police all made for an interesting mix. But the controlling English boyfriend was awful, his lines and awful acting were extremely stilted and in the real world she would have kicked him to the kerb for being so unsupportive, while saying he was being supportive. But the real stinker was the ending. I have rarely experienced such an anticlimax to a series which fizzled out like a damp sparkler on a wet bonfire night. So overall decent enough, but nothing to write home about.

Story ok but direction and editing is a disaster.

[lars-155 · 6/10 · 14 January 2021]

The story is quite ok but the direction and editing is a disaster.

The person responsible for the sound editing probably felt the same and tried to smooth over the worst shortcomings by adding a constant background sound.

I disgust when it's not quiet for a single second, especially when the series is set far up in Lapland where the natural sounds should be enough.

A big beginners mistake!

VERY poor acting by many of the primary actors

[Pizzaowner · 3/10 · 3 August 2022]

This is one of the most disappointing Nordic dramas I've seen in years.

The acting is positively WOODEN and the female lead is, I'm sorry to say, the worst.

The plot is completely fabricated and unrealistic and her interaction with the other actors is stilted and forced.

Initially the plot-line is rushed as if the writers can't wait to get into the meat of the story.

All in all, it was very difficult to watch and I was unable to watch it to the end.

NOT at all recommended.

Slow, Psychological Thriller

[iogrizekdawson · 9/10 · 21 July 2021]

I loved this because it's a departure from the predictable series out there.

The central character is not likeable throughout, which is what I believe explains some of the poor reviews on this list. (Lots mention bad acting and directing, but I disagree. Both were very well done.)

Genuine disagreeableness on the part of the central character was like a breath of fresh air for me. I prefer characters to be flawed and intriguing rather than statically heroic. Just be prepared to pay close attention as you're watching. This isn't the sort of series you can have on in the background while you're making supper.

The series is also slow-paced, but not boring. The psychological theories expressed by the central character, Maja, were technical but also interesting and kept the tension taut. The subtext that budget restrains were hampering proper policing seemed very true to life and added a layer of complexity that is often left out of more action driven series.

beautiful setting, uneven everything else

[ndasny · 6/10 · 23 November 2021]

I'm easily satisfied with Norwegian noir but I had a hard time with this one. Right from the beginning, it was annoying when the main character kept explaining "soft target" - who in the world doesn't know that serial killers will pick vulnerable targets? The ending was also contrary to everything known about such predators. In the context of too many unbelievable and uneven characters, it made the whole experience really disappointing.

The actors and characters of Elle and her father were the most interesting. It humanized an otherwise stilted set of characters.

amateurish

[CharlotteMcCrea8 · 3/10 · 24 September 2021]

The leading actress Maja is soooooo annoying that i really couldn't continue watching this amateurish series.

A lot of plot holes, unnecessary repetitions of criminology terms such as "soft target"...really? It sounded so rehearsed and absurd.

Bad script.

The only positive thing in this series is the beautiful landscape shots.

Once again, what an annoying character this Maja is that you truly want to slap her... just wanted to say that i love Scandinavian cinema and was hoping this one will a good one as well....what a disappointment.

Recommended

[whar-60691 · 9/10 · 11 July 2021]

Outlier has been compelling. Two stories coming together in one mid-summer, with commonalities in their disturbing events while separated by several years. It would have been easy to present the stories with the crash, dash, bash approach that we often see, but instead the producers have used a steady pace, with the slow reveal of the truth. This is as it would happen in a small rural community where everyone knows everyone, where some have been damaged by the acts of others. Recall Woman at War. The characters were great, and allowed to develop with time and with the realisation of current and past events. I liked it a lot.

The sweater fused with the skin

[dupina_ana · 7/10 · 1 April 2021]

The story is good and tense. Mutual relations are a little strange, but I guess that's the climate. The main actress is in the same sweater in all eight episodes, in which she even sleeps!?

Do not watch!

[tonjevildalen · 1/10 · 2 February 2021]

I was actually provoked by this show. Not only because the acting was terrible (exept from Ellea and the perp), but the script is hopeless. Full of flaws and errors, not to mention technical and professional misconceptions. It seems to me that this is written by someone who just learned about "soft targets", was triggered and then wrote a crime show despite not knowing anything about crime, psychology or human relations.

I understand the comment directed towards the police-reform and the fact that many clues and links in crime can be ignored when its more about pride than the victims. But this portrayal is too simple and characterized - unrealistic.

But what provoked me the most was the hopeless attempt at portraying a "strong independent woman". I experience Maja as just as close minded, obnoxious and hating as the men that she aims to change. She is aggressive and a horrible, and makes me question when feminism became another name for women hating men and talking about and to men the same way women have been talked about and to, and what we have been fighting for all these years.

This show is basically so bad written and performed that is makes me embarrassed to say that i have watched the whole thing.

I guess on the acting it can be a different experience if you are not a Norwegian like myself, but the story would still be poorly written and as mentioned full of errors.

Not a recommend

[laurahenderson-09308 · 25 July 2021]

So slow that after the first 4 episodes, I fast forwarded.

Mayah criticized all the men and emphasized how they do not listen to women, yet she totally tuned out Elle and was responsible for the mess at the end.

She never owned her mistakes.

She ruined lives and remained clueless.

I am blaming the writers/ directors for this disappointing presentation; actors were fine, but I am unable to recommend this series.

I bingewatched most of it!

[patcal · 7/10 · 15 January 2022]

I didn't read any reviews before watching this series and am somewhat surprised at the level of dissatisfaction on display. Having watched the first two episodes I bingewatched the remainder in one sitting.

You're not going to get perfection in every production so my attitude is try to just enjoy them as they are.

Slow must be a generational thing. Younger audiences seem to be so used to Hollywood blockbusters and franchises rattling along at breakneck speed that anything less must be bad.

As a series I enjoyed it despite the main character being a pain much of the time - I do agree with that.

One criticism I completely disagree with is that of the music. As a (very) longtime film music fan I thought the soundtrack was excellent. It wasn't Ennio Morricone but it enhanced the production throughout and I didn't find it intrusive at all.

A Good Story Spoiled...

[shoshanim · 6/10 · 3 December 2021]

...by amateur direction and a terrible script. There's the art of pacing in directing, and, when done well, enhances the emotional pivot points in a film, the excitement, the tension, the fear, the pathos. This director had no sense of any of that and just tortured the audience with a one-size fits all pace that nearly ruined the whole story. Add to that the two-dimensional script, and it was as close as you as you can get to a bomb. Only the story saved the show and some of actors efforts. The lead actress however, never quite managed to make her character an actual human being, rather more a stereotype.

Only the story kept my interest, but not without disappointing choices by the director in handling crucial scenes, the confrontation in the woods being one of them. It was a tough watch, and the hands of a different director/scriptwriter could have been an excellent series.

Music

[hour100 · 6/10 · 8 April 2021]

It was a pretty good thriller but the background music was far too load especially during the dialogue.

This was not such a Issue for me as I need the subs but for the Fins it must have been a problem.

Huge technical hole in plot

[bruceanderson-52624 · 4/10 · 1 August 2021]

What would you do as a police unit if you had a live stream of a crime? Would you MAYBE have someone keep WATCHING it? You know, in case the perpetrator walked right through the room ... on camera? Like this guy did (while nobody was WATCHING). Then you'd possibly know exactly what he looked like and, since it's a very small town, someone might recognize him???

I just couldn't get past that glaring mistake. It was so tragically stupid that I lost all interest in the show at that point.

Not to be overlooked

[lisbethinsydney · 9/10 · 24 July 2021]

Maja Angell is a disruptor, a psychologist with a compelling belief in her theory about serial killers, put to the test when she returns to her home town in Norway. Such people are necessary to jolt others out of their complacency. She may also be an avenging angel. Her need to leave in the first place is still being repeated by young women of the town. This series is a fascinating examination of human psychology that may be slow at times but adds up to a satisfying whole. The acting and script are thoughtful and naturalistic which is to be expected from a Scandinavian production. Watch for newcomer Kim-Runar Klodiussen who tags along with Maja. His ability to listen to her - something not many other men are doing - reminded me of Henrik and Saga in The Bridge. Maja's storming of the sleepy town has lasting effects and a realistic outcome. I binged on this series during lockdown and it had me captivated..

Unsatisfying ending

[annetw-70959 · 7/10 · 11 August 2023]

I liked the plot, though sometimes a bit thick, like where the Johann character never wanted to explore anything. But on the whole it was good suspense.

Apart from the ending, which was very unsatisfying.

Not just because of the death of the victim as wll as the perpetrator, all the effort being for nothing.

That was a bit of a let down, but not the main problem.

The main problem was that it left to many questions.

Who had held Maya when she was 10 years old?

Did her brother have anyting to do with it?

Why did he die? Was it just an accident or suicide? Or was he murdered, because he was on to something?

Why did her father kill himself?

Where did she go afterwards? Back to her unsupporting boyfriend? To her life in London, which had been greatly driven by what had happened in the past?

Why did the murderer do what he did? Apart from the Eric character, with whom one could totally empathize the characters weren't very understandable. Johann didn seem to know what he wanted. The murders motive wasn't clear. Neither was the fathers way of thinking. Or the mothers' for that matter. Just when she was about to be a little explained, she was whisked of to the institution again. And she didn't reveal anything about the past, so Maya getting her out of the institution in the first place made no sense. Nothing happened because of it. Nothing at all.

So, all in all, nice suspense, but very unsatisfactory.

Midnight sun sets hard over poor script and acting.

[phf-42355 · 5/10 · 4 January 2021]

The setting in northern Norway with the midnight sun is very interesting, the shots are cinematic, young Elle is portrayed well but... Vvveeeeerrrryyyyy slow paced, Main character Maja is annoying - partly because the script lets her down but I suspect that it's simply poor acting. In addition the head of the local police (Johan) is frustrating to watch and listen to. Plot holes. Constructive criticism: new lead character and reduce number of episodes from 8 to a maximum of two.

DON'T READ TRASH REVIEWS!

[teenydutton · 8/10 · 22 May 2021]

I really don't understand how everytime I read reviews on here people are just trashing everything. If you don't like it, don't watch it.

This series is really good and well acted as most Norwegian shows are. I sometimes wonder if these people even watch the shows or just decide to write fake bad reviews! Just say you didn't like it that is enough.

Kept my interest (barely), but deadly slow ....

[PeterHerrmann · 7/10 · 25 February 2022]

Should have been reduced from 8 episodes into 6 .. or even 5. A mix of good and bad (acting, writing, directing). Some characters were almost too stupid to be believable ... but, if you think about it, that's probably an accurate assessment of real life characters as well. I think part of what kept my attention was the face/features of the protagonist ... although subjectively I suspect she's not what most people would consider beautiful. In fact, come to think of it, most of the time she just glowers. (Justifiably, however).

Typical of Norwegian acting

[siljeeg · 2/10 · 13 January 2021]

As a norwegian I am always hopeful that something will break the bad spell that norwegian acting is suffering from, but sadly it is still stuck in a rut. It's simply hard to watch. Storyline and cinematics don't matter if the acters don't believe in their characters. I saw 2 and a half episode and got too annoyed and disappointed. The main charcter can't even take a sip of a beer and make it look natural. Throw away the acting curriculum and start over, we can't keep producing stuff like this.

At least we have the series EXIT with fantastic acting, that gives me some hope