By
Kristin Battestella
Shakespearean
thespian Kenneth Branagh produces and stars in the 2008 British television debut
of Wallander, based upon the Swedish
novels of the same name from author Henning Mankell. Now, Swedish is truly
Greek to me, but despite a solid literary pedigree and prior Swedish television
adaptations, this trio of 90-minute episodes packs some contemporary suspense and
delightfully bitter detective examinations for English speaking audiences.
The
disturbing, fiery suicide to start Episode 1 “Sidetracked” quickly introduces
audiences to a melancholy, downtrodden police existence, and Wallander provides a universal realism with
bizarre deaths and relatable, depressed, strung out investigators piecing
together the serial killer crimes. Although the Swedish setting is not
immediately apparent thanks to the British forefront, names and places, blue
and yellow flags, and newspaper hints do subtlety suggest Wallander’s Scandinavian roots. Pleasing investigative touches,
media interference, and corrupt politicians go hand in hand with squad room
dynamics, layers of mystery, and an ever-deepening scandal. Sure, there are the
usual cop show tropes or common lines of questioning – “Does he have any
enemies?” – however, the flawed, in over their heads detectives tie the abuses,
dirty details, and cover ups together in a well done examination accented by
artistic elements and fathers and sons analysis. The personal touches and focus
on the people and not necessarily the case balance the twisted criminals and
well edited, suspenseful killings – we almost don’t blame this killer of killers
for taking out the trash thanks to all the gray complexities. Terrified
witnesses, surprising clues, and the highest corruption all come together for an
intense finale.
Now
that we know Wallander’s bleak style,
Episode 2 “Firewall” gets right to the bloody crimes, seemingly random stabbings,
and young delinquents with attitudes that say something more. Contrasts between
the killer mentality, disturbing violence, and innocent pink bedrooms reflect
the personal amid the crimes and witnesses, and it seems divorcées and grieving
families are no better or worse than our titular copper. Naturally, with a
title like “Firewall” one can deduce the technological terrors amid the
personal here. Online technology, power outages, security failures, and
computer troubles are both a help and hindrance in life or investigation – our reliance
on machines assists in the criminal activity or tosses a wrench in the case.
Such contemporary technological statements may not be as thematically
disturbing as the abuses and violence of the first episode, but the topics are
handled better than American detective dramas where a team of heroes has
everything resolved in an hour. While it sometimes seems very impractical – how
do these people never have backup?! – Wallander’s handful of cops must deal with
everything in their jurisdiction. They are under the gun, cases crisscross, and
my goodness, bodies mysteriously leave the morgue! More family parallels and heavy backstory
unfold, but Wallander tells the
intersecting oddities of life and investigation in an ironic, linear fashion,
smartly allowing the catastrophic clockwork to simmer and sneak up upon the viewers.
“One
Step Behind” opens with a deadly costume party, and some are handling the
situation better than others are. Family may move on but some take the ultimate
way out in this third episode and the squad room deals with internal heavies as
the cases go on. Cops must trust each other with their lives, but do they
really know one another? Wallander takes
more personal time here to reflect on the job and state of not so well being
with therapy sessions and an investigation of self. Less music, innate silence,
and diegetic sounds add emphasis to the emotional parallels, ill health, and
regretfully missed clues hidden in plain sight. What if one person thought you
were his best friend and you never even noticed because the case was always
more important? Seemingly random moments or supposedly separate plots
interweave well on Wallander, and no
fluff camerawork is needed when mistakes are made and the tale is told like it
is. Where stateside shows are 40 minutes with precious little time to mount a
case – much less a pause or go over the breaking point – this serious, pensive
90-minute finale does much more than a big shoot ‘em up blowout spectacle. There
isn’t a reset button or a chance to do better next time when kids and cops are
dying, and the crimes come home in a fitting gunpoint conclusion.
Well,
Kenneth Branagh’s (Hamlet, Henry V, Othello,
Much Ado About
Nothing…) eponymous detective is certainly unkempt and crabby –and he’s only
made more unstable by his caseload. This isn’t the robust or lighthearted we have
known from Sir Ken but rather a five-o-clock shadow and defeated, ongoing
weary. Kurt Wallander has a lot of pain and tears yet he remains lovable and relatable because
he’s just trying to keep it together as the ghoulish deaths increase daily. He
refuses to realize that it’s okay to be off duty and let your own life take
priority. Wallander’s a signature away from divorce but still wears his wedding
band, he doesn’t always get along with his daughter or father, and usually spends
his free time silently zoning out in his chair. He pesters, nay, berates the
bereaved, gets slapped a few times, admits to feeling old, and most likely resents
the young spitfires about him. Why wake up when this job is your life? Though
it consumes him, Kurt needs a creepy heavy case to solve – it keeps him from
his own issues and seemingly preferred torment whilst covering up his mistakes
and bang up interrogations. Wallander has tough, desperate choices to make. He
won’t open himself up and can’t see anything positive after so much pathos. There’s
no time to pussyfoot in the quest for so called justice, but Kurt’s gruff charm
and endearing awkwardness with family and peers keep Wallander must see.
Balancing
Wallander’s glum is a fine ensemble including Tom Hiddleston (Thor, The Avengers) as the young wannabe
hot shot cop Magnus Martinsson. Although he actually spends most of his time as
a complaining messenger boy or taking crap from Kurt, Magnus provides some
sardonic humor amid the tedious paperwork and easy desk duties. He comes in
handy at times but botches his supposed computer expertise and wastes time on
useless or ultimately irrelevant tangents. Such elements would seem
superfluous, but Magnus makes an interesting secondary father and son parallel for
Wallander. He learns the hard way that the cases outside are very different
from the safety of his desk. Perhaps the seeming importance or ready for more eagerness
is part of the character, but the pre-Marvel Hiddleston also seems
underutilized or limited by the role. As Magnus he is literally and
figuratively ready and waiting to kick the door down, but bemusing quips and the
subtly of his facial expressions accent Wallander
well. I must however confess that I don’t care for the crazy curly blonde
hair. He looks like a nineties kid playing at cops and robbers, but again, that
fits the character, too. Tom Beard (Whitechapel)
as Kalle Svedberg likewise provides detective exposition. However, he looks
more like a cop and is capable of being at the crime scene reflecting the ebb
and pull behind Wallander’s often extreme tactics. A dorky, stereotypical
profiler, drunk, broken journalists, and cliché teen hackers also provide Wallander with the straightforward, plot
advancing details on a case-by-case basis. Stateside, we perhaps expect
longwinded spotlights and episodic focus on such trite cop show elements, but
here the medical examiners get in and out of Dodge, no fuss.
Sarah
Smart’s (At Home with the Braithwaites)
Anne-Britt Hoglund is as close to a partner as Kurt has, but she also keeps it
together despite being well aware how deep the investigative rabbit hole goes. Anne-Britt
is sensitive and does the quiet things during a case –which may seem the little
woman tender formula. However, she also laments how her work adversely affects
her home and marriage, doing a lot with only a few scenes or dialogue and providing
honestly and a grounding element to Wallander.
Of course, Sadie Shimmin (Mr.
Selfridge) as squad boss Lisa Holgersson doesn’t want to hear Kurt’s drama
yet remains smooth and unflustered whilst also giving him a wide berth and
reminding him that there are indeed rules to follow. Daughter Jeany Spark (Da Vinci’s Demons), unfortunately,
doesn’t have it easy balancing life and single dad Wallander. In fact, all her troubles
in life stem from him, but she remains a pleasing example of the positive Kurt
could have at home if he just took a gosh darn moment to pay attention.
Likewise, David Warner (Titanic) is
simply excellent as Wallander’s aged, ill, and bittersweet artist father. In
some ways, I do wish Wallander was a
regular, hour long, six or eight episode series that gave more time to this
lovely support and the coming and going guest players – say hey it’s Nicholas
Hoult (X-Men: Days of Future Past)
and shout out to Blake’s 7’s Steven Pacey! And I confess, I did fall
for a few character red herrings!
Wallander has
seascapes, outdoor filming, and sunshine, but the pretty scenery contrasts the
bleak plot and gruesome crime scenes. It’s nice to see a relatively obscure to
us Scandinavian location, too, keeping the dynamics fresh instead of the same
old bad ass, New York,
suave cops winning the day. The cinematic flair, boats, cars, and people on the
move add to this rugged sense of chill and northern dreary. The design is non-static
but not a busy, herky jerky in your face shock editing dulling the senses. The score
adds a bit much to the harsh landscape – it’s heavy and intrusive at times – but
this matches Wallander’s melancholy
tone. The phones, err “mobiles” as they say, however, are already dated by a
decade, along with big computers and now millennial retro fashion and makeup on
the ladies. These cops can’t have a warrant instantly emailed to their smart
phone, gasp! This is a police department with one crappy guy on a computer
instead of an entire IT unit, no wonder our eponymous inspector is so darn
frazzled.
I
like British detective shows and watch my fair share of them, but Wallander may be for a niche audience
here across the pond, filling the void for viewers seeking a well done, entertaining
crime drama. Again, I have no Swedish frame of reference with the books or
prior Scandinavian television productions, but this Wallander is A-okay stuff thanks to a gritty focus on character,
performances, and the toll of the crime – not the action and gore. Viewers
searching for an intelligent, sophisticated investigation need look no further
than this Wallander debut.
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