The Darkness

Everyone who reviewed this series so far has a valid point and, taken their individual pint of view, is accurate in his or her review. Not much to add here other than, for me, it was a huge disappointment. Only the addition of Jack Bannon, kept me from watching the series to it's torturous end.

What really got to me was the incredibly bad depiction of the Icelandic police force. If taken at face value, every policeman and policewoman is either an utter moron or too lazy to work. Everything in this series related to police work, police procedures and internal police management is so wrong, one questions the sanity of the person who wrote the script.

This could have been an excellent psychological twister-thriller, if the writer(s) wouldn't have assumed that the general viewing audience is comprised of morons as well.

3 Stars for the otherwise good, not great, performances of the lead actors and, of course, Jack Bannon.

...which appeared out of the blue here in Denmark on SkyShowtime.

I was pleasently surprised by the plot and twists, episode after episode. I won't spoil anything, but I bet ya that you can't figure out whodunnit. Love the cold setting that Island is too. Very vibey, moody and beautiful.

I've always liked Lena Olin, who I really "discovered" when watching "Romeo is Bleeding", also starring Gary Oldman. She gives a heartfelt, stellar performance in this series, as a mom and tough detective. It's really top notch.

Also very good performance from Jack Bannon, which I haven't seen before in a major role. Note to self: Check out his other work.

And as the cherry on the topping is that the series is directed by Lasse Hallström, which also directed the excellent "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" from 1993 starring Johnny Depp and other great movies. And it shows. The directing is tight, beautiful and to the point.

Definitely recommend this series.

Here's hoping for season 2.

Really tried to keep going with this, mainly because I loved Jack Bannon in Pennyworth, and he holds up, but only just against the furious, unhinged and screeching Lena Olin - what has happened to her? She used to be good, maybe she was badly directed, but her character is completely over the top and unbelievable, and every time she's on screen her face writhing with inexplicable expressions, you wonder what part she thinks she's playing. A Vampire?

And I agree, shouldn't have been filmed in English.

I was originally going to skip this one based on a couple of reviews I'd read but decided to give it a shot, and I'm glad I did.

The scenery is stunning and atmospheric, and is essentially a character in its own standing. It has strengthened my resolve to visit Iceland one day!

The story I found to be captivating - it hooked me in and kept me watching. It is a suspenseful and emotional storyline, and the cast did a great job with their performances, especially the Icelandic actors performing in English. Kudos to them.

I look forward to a second season and seeing more of what this team has to offer.

The Darkness: A Nordic noir television series set in Iceland. Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir (Lena Olin) is about to retire when she insists on taking over a suspicious death case. A young woman's body has been found frozen in a glacier. Enraged at her colleague who had ignored a missing person's report regarding the girl, she gets a new partner, Lukas, Icelandic born, recently arrived from England. Her search uncovers people trafficking from Eastern Europe, a local mafia, state corruption and incompetence if not more by the police. The darkness permeates her own life as can be expected in such a driven detective, the extent of it will shock you though. As another woman disappears she is struggling against bureaucracy, she fights for resources, even to be allowed to remain in her job as her own life comes under threat. Saw it on Virgin media Ireland. Channel 4 is due to show/stream it. Directed by Lasse Hallström, based on the Ragnar Jónasson novel of the same name. 8/10.