Series 1-3 (2008-2012)

Theres a certain darkness that pervades Scandanavian fiction, especially police/procedural stories. I find that makes it more attractive (and judging by the success of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, so do a lot of other people), imbuing it with a different flavor than American or the usual Brit fare. Not that we dont have our gritty stories, but they dont seem as saturated with grimness, with the understanding and more importantly acceptance that the world is a darkened place and the best you can hope for is to break even. Maybe it stems from living in a land where its predominantly dark half the year (but there are days in the higher latitudes that dont end, in summer), maybe its just a cultural heritage that stretches all the way back to the time when their myths told them the world would end in battle and fire. Whatever it is, it can make for great storytelling, as I found to be the case here with Wallander. To be fair, this is the third incarnation of the character, the other two having been Swedish (as the character and original stories are), and outside my purview. Here, Kenneth Branagh plays the titular detective, a native of Ystad, a port city on the Baltic, and he has to grapple with all sorts of grisly murders, plus his own inner darkness that threatens to consume him. The series is set in Sweden, which I think was a smart move (transplanting this, as we Americans so often do with British series remakes, would have wrecked it), and carries with it a major conceit; while the characters all speak in English, and the occasional written word or two is English so we can read it, the vast majority of the text newspapers, computer screens, just about everything else is in Swedish. That took a bit of adjusting, but I liked that they tried to keep as Swedish a feel as possible, even though all the actors are English (or all the principals, anyway). Wallander runs up against a variety of killers, all of them unusual. One film (each episode is ninety minutes) deals with religious fundamentalists out to atone for their sins; another centers on a group for battered women, where one of the members sets out to avenge the abusers of the others; one even has Wallander finding a skeleton in his backyard when he buys a new house. While the police stories are foremost, I think what sets Wallander apart is the balancing of that with his messy personal life. Granted, this is done often in these types of shows, but its often done exceptionally poorly; here, its aces. Hes divorced (naturally), and has sometime-contentious relationships with both his father (David Warner), who is gradually succumbing to Alzheimers, and his daughter Linda (Jeany Spark), who loves him but resents his absence in her life (in one episode another young woman complains that she had a crap dad and Wallander takes the comment to heart about his own parenting skills, or lack thereof). By making these characters interesting in their own right, they arent mere props to show that this guy has a human side (which is all they are in most procedurals); they are living, breathing, fleshed-out characters, and we come to realize that some of their beefs with Wallander are legitimate.

Wallander

Wallander is almost more at home with his fellow inspectors, save Magnus (Tom Hiddleston, better known to the world as Loki), whom he continually berates (one wonders if Hiddlestons burgeoning fame isnt the reason hes absent from season three; no official explanation is given in the show, Magnus is suddenly gone, but one could easily extrapolate, given his shoddy treatment by Wallander, that he simply packed up and left). But the rest of his team is more family to him in many ways than his actual flesh and blood. The acting is all simply superb. Of course you expect that from Branagh, but everyone across the board even character actors who only have a scene or two is terrific. The villains are never mustache twirlers, they always have an understandable if detestable rationale for their misdeeds; likewise Wallanders fellow police, even the ones who dont like him, all come off as complex, interesting characters. And as above, both Warner and Spark are excellent. The setting Ystad and the surrounding countryside also plays a major part in the series, as we so often see Wallander driving all over it. The water especially plays a major role (one story involves a ferry to Poland, another is set predominantly in Riga), and the openness some might say the emptiness of the Swedish landscape helps increase Wallanders sense of isolation from real emotional contact with others (except his daughter). The scenery is gorgeous, and we are treated often to loving shots of it; but often we linger on an empty field, or a deserted beach, or the sea. Even though they have played with the continuity from the books (so I read in my research), this English version of Wallander has an internal consistency and a continuity that is deeply satisfying. What happens in one movie is reflected in the next, which deepens your investment in the character and the show, and enriches your enjoyment the more you watch. Its almost as if these arent made in seasons, but rather form one long chain (that will apparently have three more links, and then thats it); maybe thats because I watched them all bunched together, but they really work seamlessly, rewarding the viewer who has watched from the beginning. Im deeply impressed by these films, and I enjoyed them quite a bit. The first two seasons are available via Netflix, with the third due out sometime in September. Do yourself a favor and take a look at these. The time investment is minimal (four and a half hours a season) and well, well worth it. Branaghs given us some wonderful performances in his career, but this ranks among his best. August 22, 2012