Veronika: Zeugen aus dem Jenseits

In the competitive world of crime television, 'Veronica' stands out - but for all the wrong reasons. This Swedish crime series, which had the potential to weave an intricate tale of mystery and suspense, instead plods along with an excruciatingly slow pace that tests even the most patient viewer's endurance. Instead of dynamic action or deep, meaningful exchanges, the audience is treated to the lead actress spending a majority of her screen time staring vacantly into the air. This choice, presumably intended to convey introspection or emotional depth, instead comes off as tedious and fails to advance the plot or develop her character in any significant way.

Adding to the show's challenges are the bewildering choices made in post-production. Every indoor scene is bathed in a peculiar white haze, a stylistic decision that might have aimed for a sense of dreaminess or otherworldliness but instead feels out of place and distracting. This, coupled with the decision to shroud scenes in darkness, often makes it impossible to decipher what's happening on screen. While dim lighting can enhance the atmosphere of crime dramas, making it a tool for building tension and mystery, 'Veronica' takes it to an extreme. The result is a series of scenes where viewers are likely to find themselves squinting at their screens, trying in vain to make out the characters and actions.

The show's failure to utilize its visual and narrative elements effectively is a disservice to its audience and a squandered opportunity to contribute something memorable to the Swedish crime genre. Instead of drawing viewers into a gripping, atmospheric story, 'Veronica' leaves them adrift in a sea of frustration and unfulfilled potential. One can only hope that future endeavors in this genre learn from these missteps and strive for a balance between style and substance, rather than sacrificing one for the sake of the other.

A new entry into the rapidly vast growing genre of Nordic Noir, this one set in a quaint Swedish village where a troubled police officer has visions of dead people who come to her for their unsolved murders! Sounds familiar, but Veronika has connections with the deceased, stemming from an early age when her father passed tragically, and how it all ties in with the current horrific murders.

A slow burner (really kicks in by end of episode 2) that is approached in a feature film style, allowing scenes to build and not relying on too much dialogue. Instead it shows the art in visual storytelling, piecing together the intricate puzzle, leaving a tiny trail of breadcrumbs, enough to keep one watching in unraveling the murder mystery that will hook you in to the very end.

Must admit that the Nordic Noir genre is not my favorite. It happens far too little in general and in Veronika it's really tough, to say the least. I like Alexandra Rapaport as an actress but this role playing a pill abusing cop is not her best. She is not convincing in her role and sometimes the acting feels exaggerated. The dialogue between the actors is far too slow and far too little happens. However, that they brought in actors who are otherwise relatively unknown in swedish film is a plus. The serie is okay to pass the time on a Sunday when it's raining or if you want a background sound when doing something else.

What on earth was Alexandra Rapaport doing in this? She can't be short of a bob or two from her work in Murders in Sandhamn. Perhaps she accepted the commission without reading the script. Whatever the reason, her presence couldn't redeem this mixture of fantasy and tosh. We watched as a woman who was clearly mentally ill was allowed to continue working as a policewoman after two previous hospitalisations for psychosis. All the time we were being asked to believe that delusions of dead people appearing were actually real and were aids to solving murder cases. I've got news for the scriptwriters. Delusions are just that and the illness causing them needs to be treated.

I realise why the mental illness angle was pushed so forcefully. There were no actual clues in these cold cases susceptible to police work so the hallucinations had to be used to solve the case.

In the result this was a totally unbelievable scenario that should have either been binned or rewritten.

Just as an aside, I had never realised how tiny Rapaport is. The men in the series towered over her, particularly her screen husband.

I sat through the lot but it got more ridiculous as it went on. I'd advise giving this a miss. 2 stars because I got to the end.

Veronika is probably one of the best recently released Nordic Noir shows within the last 3 years. Although it is not an extraordinary serie such as Wallander, The Bridge, The Killing or Beck, it is still worth watching. The uniqueness of this serie is that it combines Nordic Noir with Victorian Ghost Stories so it is an interesting mix. The atmosphere of this series is eerie, dark and even creepy and nature of Sweden is as usual stunning. Alexandra Rapaport and Tobias Santelmann are acting as usual great. If you have not seen Sandhamn Murders and Gåsmannen by Alexandra Rapaport you should definitely watch them. I think that this serie worths 8 over 10.