Trapped

Ófærð is an amazing, dark, slow-burning drama, where you feel the tension building from the very first moment. Ólafur Darri Ólafsson depicted a single-father (for the time-being), living with his parents-in-law, working as the chief of police with so much details and such psychological depth that it leaves the watcher in awe. He is strong but easily-hurt, he is tormented by his love to his wife and still naivelly believes that maybe, just maybe everything will be fine. The story - wow, so many paths that it takes us on, such tangled connections between closed-knit society of a small community. The scenery - breath-taking; I'm from Poland so we do have some strong winters, but the creepy atmosphere of being completelly cut-off by the snow fall is something I don't know :) And it worked for me - I was binge-watching the series with 38 degrees Celsius outside and I felt frozen to the bone :) It was a combination of the story and scenery that made the film so thrilling. Overall - great acting, good story and somewhat surprising ending.

If you look for one of the most accomplished police drama series search no further. Excellent writing, photography and acting. You'll be immersed in a small Icelandic town where a series of crimes (murders included) need to be solved. Top notch realism. It's awesome how easily you can fall in love with well built/developed characters even if they're not good looking, dysfunctional, exceptionally smart or heroic: just normal. It's even more awesome you can fall in love with a well written police drama even if no child was killed, no supernatural stuff is hinted as possibly present, no worldwide conspiracy menaces mankind, no criminal mastermind always wins. It's a good lesson for all those creators modeling their products on a dumb target audience: you don't need to. There's already youtube and Hollywood and special effects and cartoons for that: if you write series, do it well.

S1 Review

In terms of plot, tonality and direction Trapped is not unique, despite that trapped is a remarkable inclusion to the genre of Nordic noir. The series opens in a snowy remote town in Iceland where a deadbody surfaces in the river .The fiercely inclement weather ,and an ensuing storm challenges the understaffed police in the town led by Andri Olafsson to solve the case. The series helmed by Baltasar Kormákur (director of "Everest","Adrift") is an intriguing watch throughout .The snowy cold town of siglufjörður acts as a perfect ally to justify the title of the series. The series builds up on the characters of the small town which seems all okay until the body shows up. Some old memories jogged up where as few persons are driven to the verge of exposing their true self. The incident sends this apparently peaceful town into an unexpected turmoil. The situation worsens as the last hope of any help from the central police department is delayed due to the impending storm. The local police with it's limited resources finds it to difficult to solve the case .The series is a slow burn and the character arcs of the cast suits it enough for this bleak thriller. The town, surrounded by icy mountains and river works as a perfect metaphor to the claustrophobic condition of the residents of the town regarding the incident. Olafur olafsson as an efficient but misplaced cop Andri is brilliant in his role.He has a robust screen presence throughout the series playing the role of a tragic cop with a troubled family life. Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir plays a more affectionate female cop and the most lovable character of the series. She also done a great job in playing her role .As the series progresses, it divulges more and more of this peaceful town i.e political conspiracies, personal vendetta and also some unusual turn in relationships. The writers has done a commendable job in building up the gravity and the atmosphere of the series. The characters will stay with you for some time. The directors also have proved their calibre by not hurrying the climax as some shows with promising beginnings usually fall victim to, although I admit some of reveals are predictable.The spectacular work in cinematography and the magnificent soundtracks by Johan Johannson and Hildur Guðnadóttir is more than perfect. The title montage is beautiful to be said at least. The series although particularly beautiful may not appeal to all,because of it's slow pace. The series is not at it's best in portraying the melodramatic situations,it may seem forced and unnecessary. Vividly atmospheric and purposefully bleak,the series, is surely a must watch who love slow burn crime dramas.

Being a fan of Nordic noir I thought I would give this series a go and I'm glad I did. Trapped is every bit as good as anything Icelands Scandinavian neighbours have given us. Set in a small port on the Icelandic coast a spate of murders take place taking the local police force out of there comfort zone. Not that this stops the local head of police played by the excellent Olafa Olafson. With no help from the mainland due to the freezing weather he single handily attempts to track down the perpetrator. Trapped is well written,acted and beautifully shot so much so it's the first show that's so cold it makes me want to put a jumper on just watching it! Highly recommended 9/10

The murder drama set is an isolated small town is a well-worn trope, really just an extended version of the locked room mystery, or the country house killing. But when the small town is in northern Iceland, that's an unusually claustrophobic setting and 'Trapped' uses its location perfectly. When the winter storms come in, you feel cold just watching; when the thaw comes, it feels visibly warmer. The stunning scenery is also used to good effect, not least during the chilling opening credits. What I also liked about this story was that, although bad things were done, the motives (and competencies) of those involved are ultimately revealed to be fit to the scale of the world in which they have happened: the story doesn't ultimately depend on some deranged force of pure evil, or inter-galactic conspiracy. The sense of mutual hurt felt in a place where everybody knows everybody else, even if they sure don't all like one another, is also well conveyed. Perhaps there's just a little too much of taciturn people being gloomy in the dark for a perfect drama: it takes time to get to know the protagonists, although perhaps that's just the Icelandic way. Overall, it's very good, and makes one keen to return to Iceland, though probably I'll choose the summer season.