MovieChat Forums > Forbrydelsen (2021) Discussion > A nice show ruined by greed for continue...

A nice show ruined by greed for continued ratings?

posted 10 years ago by rabbitmoon
6 replies | jump to latest

I enjoyed this show for the first few episodes, endured it all until the final two, then by the end was left feeling dissatisfied and confused by the massive labyrinth of motives, lies, and immensely contrived circumstances.

I really wish they'd condensed it into an efficient, meaningful ten episode story, rather than a 20 episode rambling red-herring packed overlong saga.

Ultimately, the show isn't about anything. There isn't an ultimate conspiracy, or motive, or idea, its just a huge rambling mess than ends up with the most loose, impulsive, unplanned and messy killing that took 20 days to solve - meanwhile accusing seemingly everyone in the city.

[–] Gary-161 10 years ago

>>Ultimately, the show isn't about anything. There isn't an ultimate conspiracy, or motive, or idea,

Death of Nanna Birk Larsen = death of pan European socialism. It was very much about the writer's disillusion with politics today. Both the Working Class family and Middle Class political family came to be undermined by wolves in sheep's clothing and how both leaders welcomed them into the fold and were corrupted by them due to aspects already inherent in their characters. It is a warning or possibly just a lament. So you were right when you said it accuses everyone in the city.

[–] AnneOnymous 10 years ago

I think, like the poster above me says, that it was trying to expose the corruption/lies that permeate all levels of society. However, the murder as a vehicle for this turned out to be a weak device, as there were too many improbable twists and turns, and in the end the story didn't really add up.

I believe that the script was being written as the shooting of the series was taking place. They had intended for the story to be spread across 2 series, taking a break after episode 10, but the ratings were really big so they decided to carry on without stopping, so I think they got a bit muddled with all the details, forgetting what certain characters had said and done.

I can buy Vagn as the killer, and the political storyline is interesting, but the way the plotlines are interwoven is pretty clumsy.

The US version does an even worse job of it!

[–] Gary-161 10 years ago

I think that's because the writer wasn't that interested in the murder plot aspect of it. Just his interest in so-called "third way" New Labour type politics. Thematically, that "Penthouse and Pavement" aspect was woven in quite well with Vagn being the consummate disingenuous politician. Paying lip service to family values while actually harbouring resentment and a twisted sense of entitlement.

The problem is the town hall scenes were pretty dry and I struggled to maintain interest in them. The writer obviously can't get enough of them, judging by the sequels. The final American influenced episode was by far the best. I think they even borrowed the music from Se7en.

[–] DrZaat 10 years ago

"Ultimately, the show isn't about anything. There isn't an ultimate conspiracy, or motive, or idea, its just a huge rambling mess than ends up with the most loose, impulsive, unplanned and messy killing that took 20 days to solve - meanwhile accusing seemingly everyone in the city."

Well, if nothing else, it's about a murder, the murder of a young girl. Remember that part?

Also, it's about the effect of that murder, on the girl's family, on the cops investigating the case, and on the politicians competing for the prize in the shadow of the killing. I thought it did a wonderful job interweaving these different milieux and presenting the hidden, and not-so-hidden, conflicts in each.

I appreciated that in the political side of the story, there's no heroic stand of self-sacrifice for the sake of truth and justice. Politicians, no matter how starry eyed at the start, end up corrupted by a corrupt system, by the idea that a little shady dealing for "the greater good" is okay, because it will let me do things that really matter. Unhappily, they end up like the incumbent mayor, who wouldn't know truth or justice if they bit him, who became devoted to power for its own sake, and for his own sake. That's a portrait of politics as they are, not just in Denmark, but elsehwere, e.g., right here in the US. And that's why, politically, we're in the mess we're in.

I believe Gary-161 is correct--the show mourns the death of hope in politics, the Left having shown that it cares no more for the citizenry than the most reactionary of conservatives. If this isn't about "something," then what is?

As for your complaint regarding the length of time it took to solve "the most loose, impulsive, unplanned and messy killing," it's my understanding that that is exactly the type of murder which is the most difficult to solve.

[–] rabbitmoon 10 years ago

What I meant about it not being about anything, is that there aren't any interesting trajectories or human insights.

For example, Die Hard is about terrorists taking over a skyscraper, but what its really about is a man overcoming obstacles to win back his wife, right? Its the deeper "about" that makes it interesting and engaging. 24 season one was all about family, Bauer's and Palmer's and the dynamics that threaten and pull them together. Season 2 was all about decisions and accountability for them. The Wire is about institutions and their affects on all involved.

But I struggled to find any deeper, interesting context in The Killing. I'm aware of the "hey, politics are bad!" subtext but it feels obvious and hokey. It would have been nice to have explored a stronger trajectory for the main characters somehow, some self-discovery or change process. Look at how Walter White evolves in Breaking Bad for example. After 20 episodes of The Killing, all the characters are pretty much exactly the same as they are in the first episode. Stuff happens, but really nothing happens.

[–] DrZaat 10 years ago

After 20 episodes, Meyer is dead, Lund is discredited, the parents are stuck with the fact that the man whom they had trusted like family had killed their daughter, and Hartmann, who started out full of integrity has become just another politician. Sounds like something happened to me, and that numerous characters underwent fundamental changes.