Øyevitne

Now here's a fine crime series from Scandinavia : well-acted, well-plotted, twisty and full of surprises. The series is also moving, especially where it explores the difficulties, insecurities and tensions related to adolescence. It's the cruelest period in human life, when the difference between fitting in and not fitting in can mean the difference between walking home in peace and quiet and being thrown in a ditch. Try being gay under such circumstances - it's pretty much like having "Please kick me" tattooed on your forehead.

I also enjoyed the beautifully shot locations and exteriors.

I've just noticed that "Les innocents", the French adaptation, is on the telly. Would it hurt the eyes of a viewer from Bordeaux to watch a hillside in Norway ? Even if I get to be a hundred, I'll never understand why television makers look at a foreign series, say "Wow, this stuff is pretty good" and then rush away in order to make their own version. Generally speaking it's an exercice in redundancy.

Hitchcock often set his dark thrillers in beautiful, bucolic settings in order to starkly contrast them with his explorations of their dark underbellies. What better setting, then, than affluent,socially advanced, peaceful, stunningly beautiful Norway for these story tellers to do the same. Yes, there's something rotten in Norway.

It all starts with a violent crime accidentally witnessed by two teen boys who keep their mouths shut in order to hide the fact that they were there to have sex. But they've been seen and this puts them in danger and sets off all kinds of twists and turns and reverberations, especially since one of the teens is the foster son of the police officer in charge of investigating the crime.

But this is a character study as much as a procedural drama so that along the way we are exposed to a prickly cast of characters who we get to know and care about despite their many flaws which are highlighted by the dilemmas they are facing. They're pushed to their limits.

With excellent acting, great production design, updated Noir atmosphere, the many twists and turns of the plot and the constant sense of impending danger, this thriller grabs you and runs you ragged much like it does to the characters.

Listen, I watched this series 10 years after it's initial release, and will review it as such. The actual storyline is engaging and interesting, despite an ending that leaves some to be desired. The acting from the two boys is impressive as they were very young, Axel Bøyum does a very good job bringing Philip to life, and his portrayal is both realistic and leveled. Anneke von der Lippe also portrays a complex and interesting character very well, trying to walk the line between professional and personal life. Some of the other characters are less complex and don't bring as much to the story.

The romantic relationship between the two boys also leaves a lot to be desired, and with very little chemistry between them in most scenes, it's hard to care about their relationship. I would prefer for their relationship to be explored more, rather than it taking a back seat to support the rest of the TV-series, regardless of how entertaining the series is.

Do yourself a favor and see this series before the American remake. I'm amazed how the majority of American viewers do not realize that every time a Scandinavian TV series or movie is successful, a network or studio buys its rights and soon we have the American remake--which is ALWAYS inferior. The Bridge, The Killing, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, among several others, have been remakes of far superior original versions. The rights for Eyewitness, this excellent Norwegian thriller, were sold to the USA Network and the remake was filmed in Canada for the USA Network. If you can see the original (it is available at DailyMotion), do it before seeing the remake.

While not as long (only 10 one-hour episodes) and labyrinthine as The Killing or The Bridge, this is a relatively complex, character-driven, realistic, well-paced edge of the seat thriller. Two rural teenage boys hide the fact they have witnessed the murder of several bikers to avoid revealing they were having a secret gay encounter. Their secrecy will allow the killer to continue to operate freely while the bikers and the Balkan mafia will go to war. The plot is completely believable while the situations, locations (real biker clubs, etc.), and character development create a naturalistic feeling that prevails in every scene.

This series reaffirms the fact that Norway now shares with Denmark and Sweden the world crown of crime fiction. Eyewitness is an absolute must for lovers of Scandinavian noir and police thrillers.

So many aspects of this drama defy plausibility., not least of all the final episode.

There are too many sub-plots which makes it all too long and difficult to follow.

The boorish same-sex relationship, which seems to be compulsory these days, had no bearing whatsoever on the main storyline. It just got in the way, and they kept returning to it. I found it uncomfortable that one party was emotionally blockmaking the other into a relationship that he had no inclination for.

The sub-plots involving bikers, Balkans and gang warfare just lost me. I had no idea what the message was at the end that the jailed villain received.

The perpetrator was too narcissistic to take the action he did at the end, it didn't make sense.

It also appears that characters in dramas can survive where no normal people could.