Den utvalde

After a series of murders staged as accidents, the Swedish investigation unit decided to recruit Johan (Andreas Wilson), a young but already well known police student to help out with the case. Johan proves to be a very valuable asset in an investigation that turns out to be more than originally believed.

In contrast to what I've heard about this movie earlier I think that it was actually quite good. The plot is well thought through and you are kept on the edge of your seat the entire time through a mix of very realistic yet horrifying murders and thriller elements.

The student scenes feel a bit awkward and stale, the acting isn't always top of the line and doesn't feel very natural between the student peers; still I feel that the overall performances in the film almost sets the mood in a better way than the usual laid back student atmosphere would.

It's commonly known that the Swedish film industry is only good at realistic police flicks (Beck) and ironic/perverse grown up comedy (Vuxna Människor). I think that this is a pretty good variation of what a crime film can turn into with a tad more thriller and horror elements.

After some accidents the police find a recurring mark which makes the police understand that these are not accidents, but rather accidents staged as murders. The investigation unit decided to recruit a young and intelligent police student to help with the case. The young recruit proves to be a very valuable asset in an investigation to solve the case.

This is the second feature film by the director Eric Donell, also is the writer of the film script. Martin Söder ha co-directed the film together with him. I find the plot interesting, and that the film has good pace. The Swedish tradition for crime movies are well known, and I think this follows in that good tradition. It seems like this film has been bashed by viewers, which most probably will be mostly Swedish. I think this is rather unfair. The film is both interesting and has a good drive.

The weakness is the believability of the student scenes. The acting here isn't always top notch. The police investigation scenes are way better. Main role player Andreas Wilson does a wonderful job as the young student. He is very believable and nerdy. I was nicely entertained!

Being a student at Uppsala University myself, I and a few classmates went to see this movie. And we sure did laugh. Partly for recognizing most of the settings in Uppsala, but also because of the ridiculous depiction of the student life.

The students in the film spend time in a group of six, no more. They study in ways we couldn't recognize. They hang out at places where we real students do not hang out. They seem to have nothing in their heads except studying (so not true for real students, anyone can tell that). And none of their conversations sound real in any way. There are a lot of scenes in the movie that are just embarrassing to watch because of the poor script. Others are so ridiculous that they made us laugh even harder, which I believe is not the intention of the movie.

Even if I wasn't an Uppsala student, I wouldn't find the murder story nor the detective work the least bit enjoyable. It doesn't even work as a police movie.

Just a few script changes and it would be an all-out comedy. So thanks for a round of laughs, but it doesn't cover the fact that this is probably the worst movie I've seen so far this year. But I didn't expect better. Uppsala deserves a better movie taking place here, looks like I'm gonna have to do it myself.