Case

SPOILER: "Case" is an Icelandic crime series, a spin off apparently from another show.

When a teenager, Lara, is found hanged, suicide is presumed, but one detective, Gabriella, is suspicious there might be another cause. Meanwhile the girl's parents have hired an attorney to investigate as well.

What is uncovered is a hot mess -- the young woman was a promising ballet student, and it is learned that the ballet master was not only a bully, but giving his students drugs.

Then there are videos on the Internet of some of the girls having sex, and a crime ring that is getting underage girls hooked on drugs and turning them into prostitutes.

This is a Wallander-type series - dark and depressing. It's also sexually graphic and a little on the slow side. At the end, there are some unresolved matters because there possibly was a season 2 or at least plans for one. There is a subplot involving the lead detective's sister who has some mental health issues. Actually the season ends on what may be the beginning of an entire new plot for her.

It's so interesting to watch something un-Hollywood - no one is glamoured up, and there is frontal nudity of men as well as women, which is unusual. It was also fascinating to see parts of Iceland and hear the language.

Good characterizations and acting are real highlights as well as a plot that will keep you guessing.

Of all the Nordic Noirs this one is the least attractive. Not one character makes a good decision, they all seem blasé as hell, fail at having common sense, have completely the wrong reactions...

Towards the last third of the series this obvious lack of realism becomes quite annoying...

Too bad, the story could be so much more.

As is the case with any new series, I always give it the benefit of the doubt. Yes, like many, I found it really slow and dull. I'm having trouble figuring out who is who because all the men look alike or they are so uninteresting that we don't care. A pretty young actress who was removed from her birth parents because of their stuff, is fund hanged in the theatre where she is in training. There appear to be a couple of men who seem to be up to no good. We also have a couple nondescript police officers and some less than forthcoming young women. The acting is sketchy and the plot, at this point, meandering.

In the great tradition of bleak crime shows such as Wallander, Case is an atmospheric procedural cop show that is very addictive. The heart of men, the innocence of youth, and the fish-out-of-water female cop are tropes we've seen before, but they are combined here to make a great series. Characters are bathed in the Icelandic summer sun that never sets and are drawn realistically: no one is either all good or all bad; and everyone is guilty of something. It makes a very binge-able show that is highly intelligent, even if there are some plot holes regarding the cops' behaviors and procedures that are less than believable. High marks to the actors, particularly the lead cop Gabriela and the alcoholic, perverse and dogged Logi. The 9th and last episode ends with the opening of another story line about Gabriela's amnesiac/brain-damaged? sister. It makes me hope for a season 2. Case isn't a masterpiece like Wallander and other Midnight Sun shows but it deserves respect.

It seems like 6 months since I watched an American made series. I have watched series from Mexico, Sweden, Finland and so on and they are uniformly excellent. Even though the dialog is foreign, I perfectly understand what is happening because the actors are so accomplished. I think Hollywood directors should spend about a year watching these offerings because they have a lot going for them. The Case is no exception. The director set just the right atmosphere and even though I've had a little trouble sorting out the Icelandic names I know what's happening. Keep em coming Netflix. Next on my list is Season 3 of the show about the Mexican soccer team. That is a great series too.