Before We Die

Slightly disturbed female cops are the thing in thrillers these days. This is a nice series with interesting plot lines and good acting. It kept me hooked all the way along the first season so naturally I decided to continue with the second. This was a disappointment. Very far fetched plot twists, dead that come back alive, just too much to be credible. So enjoy season 1 and leave it at that.

Being a big fan of Nordic Noir the last year or so has seen a dip in the quality of crime dramas from Scandinavia. So I'm pleased to see Something of a return to form with "Before we die". We have a slight change in that the bad guys are a Croatian family under the guise of running a family restaurant also run a major violent drug cartel. A recruited informant is placed as a mole in the restaurant to gather information on the gang but once the moles police accomplice is killed no one from the gang or the police knows the identity of the mole except us the viewer. A good binge watch. 8/10

"Before We Die" ("Innan vi Dör") is a Swedish crime drama series, one of the best made, in a long time. There's not much to complain about, and even though the series is in 10 episodes within the same story-line, it manages to keep the quality, as well as the pace.

In a script that is both clever and very well written, the actors manage to be as credible as the story is. This is a raw, relentlessly drama that starts with the police Hanna Svensson, played by Marie Richardson – who isn't as boxy as Saga Norén in "Bron" ("The Bridge") – but you cannot exactly accuse her for being socially elegant. Instead, she's pushy and zealous, but with a large sense of justice. Even up to the point when she puts her own son - Christian - behind bars for two years for drug trafficking.

Marie Richardson carries the series and she does it with a nervy presence that engages. Magnus Krepper is wonderfully sleazy as her police colleague. Adam Pålsson does a poignant interpretation as Hanna's son, who wants to make old injustices right again and Alexej Manvelov works perfectly as the villain. With some reservation of stereotyping the bad guys, but that is something you will soon overlook.

I really hope this series will be out there with English subtitles, because I heartily recommend it.

I love subtitled shows. I seem to get drawn into the story more. I've seen so many in the last few years and Innan vi dör is right up there with the best of them. The acting is top notch and characters are well developed. The storylines take many turns and it keeps things really interesting. I was thrilled to hear a second series is in the works and it can't come soon enough. 8/10

This is an excellent entry into the group of Nordic Noir thrillers, which have been a mixed bunch lately, to say the least. It also shows how a seemingly tired plot device can be made to look fresh and exciting when the production is put together by the right team. This is the case here. The choice of the locale is near faultless, the direction is crisp and editing is so sharp it appears as if the story would lose its flow if another frame were cut out. It wouldn't, but that is how it looks like.

What makes it really work, however, the complexity of characters and the competence of actors who embody them. Looked at closely there are no goodies and baddies, just human beings shaped by their circumstances and landed on the opposite ends of the law. Each main character surprises you with their capacity to act against your expectations and make it believable. Marie Richardson as the conflicted mother and the heroic but flawed detective and Adam Paisson as her capable, self-possessed, hard-headed son are superb and lead a cast of excellent actors. There are no small parts here and the actors seldom take a wrong step. In the case of Peshang Rad as Stefan, it is amazing to see what an actor can do with the little background given to his character. It is perhaps unfair to pick actors from what is an excellent ensemble.

Another aspect that impressed me is that the violence is never gratuitous and mostly implied, leaving one wonder how the suspense is sustained for ten episodes. If I outlined the script it would seem like a collection of police thriller clichés yet the series looks and feels original thanks to the professionals who put it together.

Highly recommended.