Den fördömde

Drama often works by personalising issues; thus a crime drama needs its brilliant detective, uniquely able to see his way through a mystery. And hence, it's no surprise that programmes like 'Cracker' have used the notion of the criminal psychologist - a role whose real life value is marginal in most crimes - as a key protagonist - it's just so much more appealing than having a crime solved through the teamwork of the ordinary. Swedish drama 'Sebastian Bergman' also features a criminal psychologist as its central character, combined with the downbeat feel of other recent Scandanavian dramas ('Wallander', 'The Killing', 'The Bridge', etc.). Unfortuantly, it just isn't very good, combining ridiculous 'Silence of the Lambs'-style plotting with a moody pretentiousness that is mostly irritating. It feels neither like a thriller or real life (whereas the brilliant 'The Killing' felt like both), a beast as lumbering as its weary protagonist. Sadly proof that not everything out of the north is good.

I've read the books and loved them (except for the third one), so I was really excited to hear that a Swedish TV adaptation had been made. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite live up to my expectations. The books are long and deeply explore the characters' personal lives and challenges, but the show doesn't have enough time to capture that complexity, which left me a bit disappointed, though I understand why. It's also painfully obvious that Swedish TV doesn't have the same budget as major productions on platforms like Netflix or Prime, which is especially noticeable if you're used to more high-end shows. And espeically Torkel turned out very different from what I'd expected based on the books.

Give it a try, as it is a two-episode show. It is interesting. But it is definitely not in the summit side of Scandinavian crime shows.

In my opinion, the most serious turn-off is the choice of Ralph Lassgaard for the main character. He is a fantastic actor, but his physique-du-rol betrays the role in every aspect. He has the looks and the body of an overweight old lady, when he is supposed to play a successful womanizer with an irresistible appeal. He has no sex appeal at all, not even when he is picking up women. The same story played by Gunvald would have been a much believable thing. ;)

This set of two feature length stories feature the boorish profiler / detective / author "Sebastian Bergman" as he assists police with two murder investigations. The title character's personality is onion peeled away across the two episodes, often painfully and clumsily revealed as a rather unlikeable womanising man, who has suffered serious trauma in his life. But this unlikeable character is able to put complex pieces together in a murder investigation by often sensing that something that appears to fit doesn't fit at all.

Because of the high quality of acting, script, cinematography, and sound, there is atmosphere in abundance, and the unpleasantness of the crimes doesn't so much make you squirm and look away as make you an observer trying to understand what is going on in the characters' minds.

I found the two episodes compelling watching and I am happy to be in a minority of recommending them. As ever there are unexplained pieces or unanswered questions at the end but I assume they are answered in Series 2 which I have not seen released in the UK.

Scandinavian (Swedish and Danish, above all) crime series are a sign of quality, but when you have Wallander, Millennium, and Bron/Broen, it is extremely difficult to create something more sophisticated and attractive. Den fördömde does not measure up to the ones mentioned (for various reasons, e.g. tardy pace, uneven characters and performances, over-scrutinised solutions, lengthy references to the past), but for those fond of Swedish places, approaches, topics, landscape, etc., it is still another good experience. And Rolf Lassgård is really great, however, due to his person, there is no uniform team, he outperforms all other actors and is involuntarily brought to the front even when it is meaningless arising from the logic of events. But, with only 4 episodes made, it is not an oppressive watching, just do not have too high hopes.