The Killing

This is series is a little like 24, in that each episode is a day, not one hour.

Its pace is slow and like Wallander its based on characters and relationships.

The plot is complex and detailed.

If you liked the BBC series State of Play, you will love this!

All the actors are very convincing and its so realistic.

Theis Birk Larsen and his wife are convincing and at times make it seem like a documentary.

Its worthwhile watching and once pass episode 3 you will be hooked.

Well done BBC for showing it!

This amazing Danish series is even more absorbing than MAD MEN (2007, see my review), and may be the most compelling drama series ever made for television. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for 20 hours. (My review is of the complete Series One only, as Series Two is not yet released on DVD and Series Three is being shot as I write.) It is a pity that the title of the series has been mistranslated as THE KILLING, for that gives a false impression of some seedy cop caper, full of violence and murder, sirens and car chases. The Danish title FORBRYDELSEN means 'The Crime'. The crime of this 20-hour marathon takes place before the series begins, and is the mysterious murder of a 19 year-old girl named Nanna Birk Larsen. We never see her except in photos and one video clip. The series is about the incredibly complex and breathtakingly dramatic aftermath, much of which concerns political intrigue and corruption in Copenhagen's town hall. The crime is seen to be much more than just a killing, which is another reason why the English title is wholly inadequate. (It is typical of the inferior nonentities who now run the BBC that they want to sensationalize everything and inject sex and murder into everything they can because they think it will be 'popular'; there are many instances of this. The BBC has no business trying to be 'popular' and aim for high ratings because it is funded by a tax on every TV set in Britain and audience size is not needed for advertisers, as there are none.) The acting and direction for this series are so brilliant there are simply no words strong enough to praise the persons involved. First of all, one must praise the writer Soren Sveistrup and his three co-writers for coming up with the most complex murder mystery plot imaginable, and with fascinating and convincing character studies. Even the smallest parts are of interest, and no attention to detail is overlooked. Five different directors made this series, the chief being Kristoffer Nyholm, and it ties together seamlessly as if all made by the same person. That indicates highly superior producing by the team of three producers. The series also has haunting and highly effective music, composed by Frans Bak. These are all highly talented people, and they are matched by the first class acting of everyone in the series. The acting is rather different from what we are used to outside Scandinavia. The Danes are obviously specialists in silent communication by means of significant looks, both focused and unfocused. The specialists in this art of communicating by non-communication are Bjarne Henriksen and Ann Eleonora Jorgensen, who play the married couple Theis and Pernille Birk Larsen. Henriksen rarely speaks at all, but his silences are enormously communicative, and as for Jorgensen, she conveys much by a manic staring into space as her personality disintegrates and she slowly goes to pieces in the aftermath of her daughter's murder. Her waves of hysteria are like tsunamis of silence. All of this is extremely powerful stuff. The strangest of all the silent characters in the film is the police chief Brix, played with eerie composure, tinged with mute menace, by Morten Suurballe. It is impossible to overemphasize the power of these silent figures in the story, who tower over the action like censorious megaliths. Many Scandinavians have a code of formal politeness like a veneer over their personal conflicts. This is seen in heightened fashion between the urbane scoundrel Poul Bremer, the Mayor of Copenhagen, played with extreme cunning and finesse by Bent Majding, and the young politician who opposes him, Troels Hartmann, played in a breathtaking bravura performance of determined rectitude by Lars Mikkelsen. These two repeatedly insult each other throughout the entire 20 hours in the politest way imaginable, despite the fact that the insults are so vicious and extreme that in any 'normal' culture, the men would be hitting each other with their fists and shouting vitriolic abuse. Scandinavian self-control really has to be seen and heard to be believed. Another amazing performance in the series is delivered by Nicolaj Kopernikus (Yes! Nicholas Copernicus! Can you believe that?) as Vagn. But the series is dominated by the female lead, Sofie Grabol, playing the detective Sarah Lund. Her mastery of significant looks extends to showing in her face and eyes the very formation of thoughts! When she notices something or thinks of something, it is as if a chorus has begun to sing the Magnificat, but we hear nothing because it is all inside her head. She is magnificently supported by Soren Malling as Jan Meyer, her fellow-detective. Their constant bickerings and disagreements overlay a profound sympathy and mutual respect. Grabol reminds me very strongly indeed of Caroline Proust, who plays the female lead detective in the French series ENGRENAGES, known in English as SPIRAL (2005, see my review of the first two series). The choice of the right actress to play the lead female detective can make or break a detective series, and both the Danes and the French got it right. (Various examples of getting it catastrophically wrong can be seen in several British series.) Every actor and actress in this series seems to be perfectly cast and to deliver a perfect performance. It is really an astonishing achievement, and one did not realize that such a mass of perfection existed in Denmark. How do they do it? They really are a strangely introverted and mannered breed. Watching this series is an education in just how different peoples of different countries can be from one another, invisible as that may be on the surface. One should not neglect Marie Askehave as Rie, Michael Moritzen as Morten Weber, Laura Drasbaek as Charlotte, and Jesper Lohmann as Jens Holck, all of whom are excellent. A true masterpiece!

This is the most incredible series - i am on ep 13 awaiting the rest, but the script is sensational. So clever and completely absorbing. The direction and acting is also sublime, as is the art direction. I don't believe you will get better TV than this series. I have watched so many box kits of Sopranos, Dexter, In Treatment, Mad Men etc.. yet this series tops them all. I am overwhelmed by the quality and as someone who works in theatre and film i can highly recommend this to anyone who just wants to see how it is done best!

The way the series covers both the police investigation and the victim's family's turmoil is unique in crime dramas, the nature of grief and its effects on families, the emerging information in its many guises, ie things the family discover that were kept secret, and the slow and intelligent police case, coupled with subtle insights into all of the relationships. A show that never falls into cliché or stereotypes, and is shot with such beautiful lighting and moodiness that it is visually arresting. You are completely taken on a journey, cannot live in the real world while this world unfolds, and i dare you to watch one ep and not watch another - i think that would be virtually impossible.

I've just finished watching all the episodes and I've not been so engrossed in a series since 24 (the original series) was on TV many years ago. In many respects it does remind me of 24.. 20 episodes spread over 20 days, many twists and turns, the main characters stumble from one wrong turn to another until the final denouement.

But that isn't its main appeal, I'd even go so far to say that it detracted slightly from the series as a whole. The absolute best part of this is just the sublime acting. The whole thing is about characters wrapped up in a mild cliffhanger plot, its how they react to each other and developments that really makes the difference from what we usually get on TV.

The filming is very good, and little touches abound in it - my favourite is still how Sarah Lund can breeze along with her eyes shut, yet Jan Meyer cannot follow behind her without stepping in something. That's a double act that Hollywood will never be able to match.

There are faults with it though. Unless the Danish police are really well funded I found forensics turning up at a snap of Sarah's fingers in the middle of the night to be somewhat unrealistic (they must have good overtime payments in Denmark), similarly a DNA sample would be tested and the results back in less than an hour, and its nearly always dark too - maybe they all sleep during the day. Either way, these are things you just live with as its a TV show and reality has to be strained.

In short - watch it, even with subtitles, you won't miss the developing characters and their reactions to their changing lives.

After finishing watching The Killing (US version) several years ago, of which my review is available, I happened to notice from some of the reviews that it was based on the original Danish series Forbrydelsen and how much the original version was way better and honestly recommended.

I had my doubts, thinking how could a series (even in its original version) be better than The Killing (US) and outshine it, until I happened to watch the first season of Forbrydelsen in its span of 20 episodes (each over 55 minutes long to my true pleasure) and already half-way through understood why it is so much better and why it can be compared to a blindingly brilliant gem.

• The script, storylines, plot and sub-plots_ are awesomely developed, unfolded, without rush, meticulously and with brilliance.
• The atmosphere is very well set, in each episode, depicting the thrilling events and various feelings that every protagonist is going through.
• The series has depth and complexity in the most superb form. Again, without any rush while slowly unfolding, at the same time, digging deeper and deeper. The ~one-hour-long episodes were such a joy that I cannot describe it. That's how it should be done, without doubt and hesitation.
• The cast. Oh the cast! Never have I seen such a stellar cast, altogether in a series. Everybody shines and I mean it. The parents do a wonderful job with gripping and realistic emotions, both passive and active, that get hold of your throat. Troels Hartmann (the mayor candidate) is a stellar actor with such a strong presence and charisma that few ever surpassed it in series and movies. And last but not least,Sofie Gråbøl (Sarah Lund), the main detective protagonist in the case, does such a job that words come short of describing it; her acting, emotions, stubbornness (oh my goodness), wittiness completed with such a belief in her intuitions, create so much magic that viewers cannot help but be riveted to the screen and keep following her quest for the truth. In some scenes, she brought tears into my eyes and made me gasp in awe by her superb and timely actions, her unparalleled stubborn strength and her shiny green eyes discovering part of the truth. At times, she reminded me of Jack Bauer and believe me, that's not a light thing to say! Kudos, Kudos to her and to the producers for casting her.
• The soundtrack and music were so good, gripping and timely that this section alone deserves tons of awards. The upbeat music accompanying emotionally intense scenes depicting various protagonists' actions and feelings at the end of each episode is the most suspenseful and fitting one that I have ever listened to in any motion picture / series.

A brilliancy to fully appreciate and understand, only by watching it and getting immersed and drowned in its deep, multi-layered and suspenseful storyline. Highly-recommended to all lovers of the genre.

It will change your views on thrillers forever.