Quartier des Banques

This is a pretty good show, and it's interesting to watch the Swiss turning their banking system into dramatic material in these post-financial crisis times. The ending is good, so keep watching.

A few things could have been handled better, including the American link, and I found the lead performance of Elisabeth somewhat misguided: Although she is supposedly an independent and experienced woman, she is played as a nervous and emotional being, unable to keep a cool head even as she sees the importance of her chosen mission.

This series explores the family dynamics between members of a banking family, and the US hunt for tax evaders. It's an interesting premise but the editing is pretty horrible and choppy. Scenes seem to be stuck in quite randomly, and often bear to relationship to the one before or after. This disturbs the continuity. As is common with many Francophone series, there are endless closeups of lips, necks, eyes, mouths and people walking in hallways with the camera following the back of their head. It's watchable but just a very average show.

The last third of this season was atrocious. And that was directly due to how the Elisabeth Grangier character was portrayed. There was absolutely NO arc to that character. She's a wounded duck at the beginning of the series and she's a wounded duck at the end.

This character intransigence has a devastatingly negative effect on the entire story. Elisabeth Grangier essentially has two modes: crying mode and sex mode. Whenever the going gets tough, Elisabeth Grangier has sex. Then it's back to crying mode.

Because Elisabeth is the central character, her mental stagnation results in the final third of the plot bogging down terribly. Elisabeth is constantly arriving too late, drawing conclusions that no longer matter and failing to see what's right in front of her eyes. In most movies or series like this, the mouse becomes angry and roars. NOT in this series.

The last two episodes are filled with lengthy dialogues that go nowhere. It was frustrating to watch, considering how smoothly the first four episodes played out. I fast-forwarded through most of the last two episodes. And I kept hoping Elisabeth was gonna kick it up a notch but that never happened.

It's really a shame because during the first four episodes this series displayed real potential. But for some reason the writers were unwilling to allow Elisabeth to grow into a tough-minded, take no prisoners woman. This series would have been SO much better if the writers hadn't stunted Elisabeth's growth.

Despite some inconsistencies in characters, I found this to be compelling. I liked the interpersonal issues, and I liked the larger political, social, and cultural issues. I did not have the same complaint regarding editing as was noted by one of the other reviewers, but maybe I should have: I thought it was part of their approach, but in retrospect it could have been tighter. I look forward to it continuing.

Interesting and realistic subject. Accurate depiction of the nature and intricacies of Swiss private banking and how its secretive nature has contributed to illegal activities in many parts of the world,

Well developed plots, complex and believable characters whose virtues and flaws surface progressively. Outstanding acting by most main characters.

Excellent, thought provoking (French) dialogue, Beautiful scenery and photography.