You will have
figured out by now, I imagine, that as a family we are rather partial to our
crime dramas. This is why detectives of many different nationalities, ages and
time periods parade regularly on our screens no matter where we are in the
world. Well, I was indulging in this particular piece of “police work” the
other evening when I realised, to my dismay, that I have not yet introduced you
to Wallander.
I mean,
maybe he needs no introduction as far as you’re concerned. But the thing is, I
do enjoy the Wallander films/series so much that it is quite shameful he has
not made an appearance here before. And I enjoyed this particular example of
Wallender so much that I thought, you know what? I have to give him a spot this
week. Because EVERYONE likes a good session of cops and robbers, right? Right?
In this
particular episode, it all starts off pretty much like a routine if rather
tragic accident that kills an old friend of Inspector Wallander’s. Wallander is saddened by this, but to be fair
they hadn’t been in touch for a while and there seems to be nothing “wrong”
with the death so he is ready to move on. The victim’s son, however, is most
definitely not. He is insistent that there is more to the death than would
appear and implores Wallander to look into it, to no avail. Things start to hot
up (or cool down, depending on which way
you look at it) when the son also turns up dead – and this time it is VERY
clearly not an accident. It will quickly transpire, however, that this double
murder is only the tip of a rather large and particularly unpleasant iceberg. Wallander
is going to need all of his wits about him to truly take this case on. Which is
why it is a crying shame his personal life – that seemed to be going so well
- is also taking up a rather large
portion of his mind…
First of
all, one footnote. This particular film is the Swedish adaptation of Wallander.
This makes sense to my mind, because to the best of my knowledge the original
series itself is also in Swedish and set in Sweden. I have always had the
deepest respect for Scandinavian art and cinema (much to the horror of a lot of
my friends and acquaintances, who find it insufferably sad). But my
appreciation of their ability to write /film crime dramas has gone up recently.
I mean think of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”. I mean I grant you, the rest
of the series didn’t, to my mind, match up with the first book but still, what
a storyline, eh?
Anyway. To
return more specifically to Wallander himself, I love this series – especially the
Swedish version – simply because all the characters are so… Real. I mean you
know there are two “basic” cop types. Either the cop is the charismatic if
slightly dysfunctional hero, handsome and almost impossible to trick. Or he is
a good, old-fashioned copper whose private life is an utter mess and is almost
unable to function outside the walls of the precinct (think Dalziel for Dalziel
and Pascoe). Wallander is something in between. And this is why I find him a
lot easier to sympathise with. He is very much a real man, with real feelings
and real issues. He acts like a fool, he makes mistakes but he can apologise and
make amends too – or at least he can try. I think it is the Scandinavian
penchant to keep things a lot closer to real life that makes me enjoy
Scandinavian art so much. I mean, they don’t say the truth is stranger than
fiction for nothing. Sometimes we are so busy escaping life that we don’t
really make the time to truly observe and / or enjoy it. There is, of course, a
subtle irony to the fact that I am writing these words under the review of a
crime drama film which is one of my prime modes of escape from my day’s
troubles… But see, the film has a double
function. It helps us escape our lives for a bit – but helps us think about it
too. A non-escapist form of escapism, if you will. That’s my story anyway, and
I’m sticking to it. Now, pass the popcorn.
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