The Guardian called it ….Prime Suspect meets State Of Play via Wallander and every bit as good as that sounds. It’s the reason I’m refusing all invitations for Saturday nights – well bar one which was unavoidable and I did catch up with Wednesday’s repeat – lighting the fire, opening the wine and settling down for the double bill treat of Forbrydelsen – the Danish cult hit – The Killing, written by Søren Sveistrup, BBC 4. Saturday 9-11pm. If you haven’t watched then I fear you’re too late, unless you’ve got a spare 16 hours to play catch up on i player, but don’t despair, a second series is scheduled for later in the year.
The Killing is compulsive and different: the story of the murder of a young woman and its investigation told over twenty episodes and exploring the very human and far reaching consequences. The investigation is headed up by D.I. Sarah Lund played by Sophie Grabol. Lund is: steely, clever (cleverer than the men), tough, single minded, prepared to sacrifice family for work, and surprisingly, wears thick patterned Shetland sweaters which explode the stereotype.
Working out who dunnit is impossible (well I have my suspicions but who knows if I’m right) as every week the story spins on its axis and leaves you re-evaluating what you thought you knew. Great stuff!
Oh, and I love listening to the Danish, every now and then I catch a word or two.
Like you Avril I was fascinated by this series, as one by one each of a series of suspects became the centre of the enquiry, The pattern of suspicion in each case seemed just about complete only to be dismantled towards the end of the episode. In the process the outer complexity of the political context, and the more intimate complexity of the social and family life of the victim,. The drama was dark and slow and not weighed down by music telling us what to think and feel. As with Wallender the language and subtitles in no way impeded my enjoyment of this well directed series of dramas. wx