Case

Of all the Nordic Noirs this one is the least attractive. Not one character makes a good decision, they all seem blasé as hell, fail at having common sense, have completely the wrong reactions...

Towards the last third of the series this obvious lack of realism becomes quite annoying...

Too bad, the story could be so much more.

As is the case with any new series, I always give it the benefit of the doubt. Yes, like many, I found it really slow and dull. I'm having trouble figuring out who is who because all the men look alike or they are so uninteresting that we don't care. A pretty young actress who was removed from her birth parents because of their stuff, is fund hanged in the theatre where she is in training. There appear to be a couple of men who seem to be up to no good. We also have a couple nondescript police officers and some less than forthcoming young women. The acting is sketchy and the plot, at this point, meandering.

In the great tradition of bleak crime shows such as Wallander, Case is an atmospheric procedural cop show that is very addictive. The heart of men, the innocence of youth, and the fish-out-of-water female cop are tropes we've seen before, but they are combined here to make a great series. Characters are bathed in the Icelandic summer sun that never sets and are drawn realistically: no one is either all good or all bad; and everyone is guilty of something. It makes a very binge-able show that is highly intelligent, even if there are some plot holes regarding the cops' behaviors and procedures that are less than believable. High marks to the actors, particularly the lead cop Gabriela and the alcoholic, perverse and dogged Logi. The 9th and last episode ends with the opening of another story line about Gabriela's amnesiac/brain-damaged? sister. It makes me hope for a season 2. Case isn't a masterpiece like Wallander and other Midnight Sun shows but it deserves respect.

A girls is found hanged in a teather, and this brings about the typical crime quiz whodunnit? Why? The storyline stretches too long opening to all of sorts of evil, teen prostitution, sex predators, junkies, a lawyer buffet, all of them featuring perverse bizarre characters, some situations in the storyline turn preposterous. Dissapointed. Iceland made best products involving crime and police procedural

It seems like 6 months since I watched an American made series. I have watched series from Mexico, Sweden, Finland and so on and they are uniformly excellent. Even though the dialog is foreign, I perfectly understand what is happening because the actors are so accomplished. I think Hollywood directors should spend about a year watching these offerings because they have a lot going for them. The Case is no exception. The director set just the right atmosphere and even though I've had a little trouble sorting out the Icelandic names I know what's happening. Keep em coming Netflix. Next on my list is Season 3 of the show about the Mexican soccer team. That is a great series too.