Lula Loves

Lula Loves

Friday 1 February 2013

In Praise of Scandi Noir

So, I know I'm a bit late to party and the zeitgeist moved on from Scandi Noir long ago but I have become a tiny bit obsessed with The Killing in recent months. I was aware of its existence ages ago, but, as I am generally wont to do, I resisted watching it because everyone else was watching it. As a rule, if something becomes popular I do my utmost to avoid it. Not sure why. But as anyone who watches TV on a saturday night will know, there's not much broadcast on a Friday or Saturday evening that has any meaningful content.  Unless you tune into BBC4, where you'll find all sorts of stuff you never knew you were interested in, but once you start watching you can't tear yourself away from. A case in point: I ended up watching an entire programme about prog rock;  I simply couldn't stop watching it, though I take zero enjoyment from watching men flounce about in ridiculous outfits and piddle about with synthesisers for 3-hour long concept albums. 

It was therefore inevitable that I'd stumble upon Sarah Lund and co in time. That first viewing was a bit difficult. You definitely have to tune your ear to the strange, staccato nuances of the Danish language. And I struggled to follow quite a bit of the political stuff. But once I got past that, I really started to get why Danish drama is wiping the floor with anything coming out of the UK right now. And even some of the American stuff, like Homeland, which I also love, but which could, at times, take a leaf out of the understated acting that defines The Killing. 

Then there is Sarah Lund. What a character, so incredibly far removed from the standard female protagonists served up by other crime dramas. Without veering into cliche Sarah Lund portrays the 'damaged cop' part with utter credibility. It's rare to see a female character in a role like this; so often female characters in crime and other drama get typecast - they have to be kick-ass sexy, or men haters, or that rather pathetic combination of handy with a gun yet delicate and beautiful at the same time. Very few are portrayed as unflatteringly as Sarah Lund often is. It's so refreshing to see a female character who's a bit of a loner and actress Sophie Grabol gives an absolute masterclass in portraying a person who undoubtedly has neurosis' but is ultimately unworried about standing apart from colleagues and even family, as well as from what convention dictates women should be like. I'm far from a radical feminist but it's about time a female character like this was given some proper air-time on our screens.

As I ejected the last disc of the last series of my box set, I stumbled up Silent Witness and the contrast couldn't have been more stark, going from what I'd been immersed in over the past few weeks to the weak lines and simpering looks dished out by the female characters in this prime-time drama which pulls in something like 7 million viewers an episode. I have wondered if simply by virtue of having subtitles The Killing seems to inhabit a more sophisticated plane. But I don't think it's just that - the cinematography, outstanding acting across the cast and intelligent plot lines have something to do with it, too. 

So now I'm considering both purchasing The Bridge and booking a holiday to Denmark. And perhaps buying a Faroese jumper...