Customer Reviews

The Killing: Season One

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

AMC, having established itself a leader in smart and sophisticated counter-programming (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Rubicon), serves up another winner with "The Killing"--an adaptation of a successful Danish television series. I, personally, look at the show as the thematic cousin to "Twin Peaks" albeit with a completely different tone and vibe. Both shows center around the murder of a girl, both even feature the tagline "Who Killed.....(Rosie Larsen and Laura Palmer, respectively)," and both chart three similar storylines. We see the investigation progress, we see the painful aftermath on the girl's family and friends, and we see how the murder may be tied to local politicians and bigwigs. That, of course, is where the similarities cease. "The Killing" is a deadly serious and contemplative drama set in Seattle--not at all encumbered with the quirky eccentricities that defined that other Washington State township. It is an intense and quiet show with a slow build--those eager for easy answers and constant action may need to look elsewhere. The pace of "The Killing" is more akin to the unraveling of a fine novel.

Through successive episodes, the path to identifying the murderer becomes increasingly muddy. Steely and determined Mireille Enos play the intrepid lead investigator haunted by past mistakes. She is unable to move on with her own life and, in fact, sacrifices potential happiness in her dogged pursuit of justice. Her replacement (only he can't replace her when she won't leave!) is the offbeat Joel Kinnaman. Both humorous and strangely intense, the two forge an uneasy relationship that provides a lot of conflict, drama, and unexpected laughs. On another front, the always terrific Michelle Forbes and Brendan Sexton III play the deceased girl's parents. Forbes is magnetic going through the stages of grief and Sexton is a powder keg of repressed emotion. And lastly, there is the political component that weaves around the central mystery in surprising ways. Billy Campbell plays a mayoral candidate whose closeness to the investigation causes some major issues on the campaign trail.

Of course, this brief synopsis really does no justice to the intricacies of the actual story--but serves as a simple introduction. Every episode is structured as one day in the investigation, but the show really does a fine job balancing the three concurrent plot components. Well written and intelligent, the show is not your typical police procedural. This one relies on in-depth characterizations and complex plotting. Again, if you are looking for light hearted or breezy fare--this would not be it. This requires and rewards patience and attention--and that's something I appreciate in the land of formulaic television.

Check this out as a slow burn mystery. I especially recommend it for the performances. While everyone is quite good, I have to single out Forbes and Sexton. Forbes puts it all onto the line in raw naked emotion--I can't think of a recent TV performance quite so harrowing. And Sexton is more understated, complex, and internal--but no less effective or believable. Great job to them. An intriguing show for adults, if that sounds like a recommendation--it certainly is. KGHarris, 5/11.

I tend to not watch things that I see advertisements for on every channel unless I was already planning to. It's more out of principal. The millionth time I see something advertised, it starts to annoy me. But I was bored one Sunday night and after seeing about five advertisements telling me that The Killing was probably about the greatest show ever, I decided it was worth giving it a shot.

I came to a conclusion: the reason everyone is going on about how awesome this show is, is because it's the best crime drama (a genre I'm usually not a fan of) that I have ever seen.

The story is broken into a few different major stories that intertwine around a central event: the murder of Rosie Larsen.

The most heart wrenching scenes are the ones with Rosie's family on the day her body is discovered, and in the aftermath of her death. The family scenes are painful to watch. The characters of her parents and siblings feel real and sympathetic enough that you will feel for them and their loss from beginning to end. There is no way to watch the Larsen family try to go about and rebuild their lives without the occasional (or constant) tears.

Then there's the campaign in the middle of the murder investigation. Whether or not anyone in the campaign is involved in Rosie's murder is up for debate throughout and the question isn't totally answered by the end of the season.

The officers of the case - Holder and Linden - are some of the most interesting and human detectives on television. One's an ex drug addict who continuously does questionable things for what he seems to believe is for the good of the case, and the other is a woman who wants nothing more than to retire and move with her son and fiancé.

The story unfolds slowly, dragging the viewer along for the shocking and sometimes painful journey. It's a fascinating story that the viewer (if they're anything like me) will be thinking about long after it's over.

The series finale is one of the greatest I have ever seen. I cannot wait for the second season after seeing it. After watching the season finale, I have even more questions and even more I cannot stop thinking and speculating about.
The Killing is full of suspense and drama and encourages audience speculation and participation. It's a show that keeps the audience on their toes.

I watched the show from beginning to end. I started with zero preconceptions, it was just on AMC at a time when I normally watch AMC. It is far from a perfect show, but it is a great show. The political side story was very weak, you can fast forward through all of that and miss nothing at all if you get bored. People have objected to how the story went off on false leads and tangents, I simply regarded those as the nature of trying to solve a case with few leads.

At a certain point of the series, however, I quit listening to all the 'I want a clue-of-the-week with a bad guy and nicely-tied up conclusion at the end of the season' very vocal critics, and sat back to just enjoy the performances. If you enjoy superb acting, and a brilliant character study to see the ripple effects of a murder, this is a great show (other than the political side story).

Linden and Holder are in particular excellent as a complete pair of opposite detectives. I started out the series thinking Enos had it all together and Holder was incompetent, but then as the series progressed I came to the conclusion that Linden was a pretty troubled volcano beneath her calm surface, and Holder ultimately might be the stronger and more honest one emotionally, even with a troubled past. Enos and Kinnaman are simply brilliant in their portrayals and I hope this season the focus will be even more on them. They are worth watching the show just for their performances.

I too was angry when they didn't resolve the murder at the end of the season as I expected. However it was a 24 hour anger. It's just a TV show, and it was a season end not a series end. I'm surprised at how people are acting with a degree of bitterness as if their significant had other committed adultery on them. Maybe that's a testament to how engrossing the characters in the show became to everyone.

AMC network's next original series, The Killing is based on the wildly successful Danish television series Forbrydelsen and tells the story of the murder of a young girl in Seattle and the subsequent police investigation. Season one will consist of thirteen one-hour episodes. The Killing ties together three distinct stories around a single murder including the detectives assigned to the case, the victim's grieving family, and the suspects. Set in Seattle, the story also explores local politics as it follows politicians connected to the case. As the series unfolds, it becomes clear that there are no accidents; everyone has a secret, and while the characters think they've moved on, their past isn't done with them. The first episode when the parents found out that their daughter died made me tear up, wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

I personally like the series so far, it's kind of different but familiar. While the first season is based on the murder of a young woman I'm watching to see how it will unfold and were they will take it, if there should be a second season. I don't watch AMC network alot but after watching this series, The Walking Dead, Made Men and Breaking Bad I'm slowly becoming a fan of the network and it's series.

Amazing first episode. Really good. One of the most interesting stuff on television this last year. However, the rest of the season, more twelve episodes, is full of ups and downs. In certain point, there is the weird feeling that the writers don't know exactly what to do to fill the time spot. In my opinion the worst moment is the episode focused on Jack, Sarah's son. A real bad one. The final episode is also problematic. There are lots of stuff going on, but without enough time to put things together properly. Extra points to the cast. Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman and Brent Sexton are superb.

I watched this back to back on a flight from the UK to Australia and I could not have been entertained more thoroughly. It was absolutely superb. Loved the plot the acting the characters etc etc. Hadn't enjoyed a thriller as much as this since watching Prime Suspect many years ago. Can't wait for the realease of season 2. Watched the Danish version and didn't enjoy it as much even though I am a fan of world cinema and often watch movies with sub titles. Somehow found the political story to intense in the Danish version! But it was still good.

3 stars or 4 stars? I really couldn't decide.
Having watched the Danish version and loved it, I thought I'd take a look at the American version. Although I prefer the original, I am aware that screening a 20 hour long series in Danish with English subtitles in the US is hardly going to be the juggernaut of the ratings. Full credit to the team for then attempting to convey the Danish brilliance into a format acceptable to an American audience and beyond.
The story is initally an exact replica of the original but then slowly finds its own path. There are decent performances from the cast and Seattle is probably as good a US city as any for the story to be based in. I particularly like Joel Kinnaman in the series. He has recently done quite alot of Swedish cinema and certainly plays the role of Holder pretty well, even if it is quite different to that of the Danish version of his character.
It can be hit and miss with remakes. I've yet to see how the 2011 Girl With The Dragon Tattoo will appear in it's newer version. Again the Scandinavian version seems to have set a rung on the ladder that could be very hard to beat. I did watch Queer as Folk years ago. As much as I liked the British original, I preferred the US remake.
The Killing is ideal for you if you want to enjoy a decent whodunnit which explores grief, but without having to sit through subtitles.
Make your own mind up, it's worth a go. But if you like this, then try the original as well. You'll be impressed.

The Killing, based upon a Danish series, is about a girl named Rosie Larson and the multiple aspects that come with dying. The series revolves around a detective and the family she wants to have, another detective that wants to move up the chain of command, a family in the middle of a whirlwind of emotions and grieving, a politician that finds himself more than just the social figurehead, a teacher that has a thing for beauty and a wife that has secrets about him, friends, neighbors, and the girl.

We pretty much know Rosie is dead from the beginning, but the show goes much deeper and showcases that aspect rather quickly. One thing they do that has stuck with me happens in What We Have Left, when she is being buried. She is being put in the casket, the dress her parents picked out draped over her, when we see fake fingernails being placed over shattered fingers. she clawed with some of her last gasps, and it is covered up to hide the horror from those closest. That hurt. Other things do the same on a mental plane, with a centipede wandering into frame during the funeral and finding itself unwelcome. The same can be said for a lot of the other pieces, too, with them wandering in an making this layered.

While the show is about Rosie, it has a lot of other elements. You have a cop in the lead with a marriage coming up and a kid already in his teens, holding on to one more case because she has trouble letting go. You see the family as they weep, and you see some powerful stuff there. In The Pilot, for example, the father is informed and he has his phone open, shocked, screaming. A lot of scenes say something there, but this does a lot. The mother and the kids are also standards for grief, as are some of the things friends say. and then there is the political portion.

The politics, while interesting, is also a shadow over everything. I do not want to give out specific portions so I will say that an event ties this case to one incumbent hopeful, riding on a campaign of cleaning up the city and bringing new to neighborhoods. The only problem is that the boat e is in is leaky, filled with lots of bad advice. You also see how the people come out and how they array themselves, from the seemingly bad to the just plain greedy. Then there is the suspect and the way he ties in.

I have to give the show a lot of props. Not only does it keep giving cliffhangers, but the actins is superb. I like all the portions, sometimes thinking of the Wire and twin Peaks and a lot of things modeled together and yet walking alone. You get a picture of a person, too, and that matters. Death is horrible but some shows play it over and over again, like it is some macabre banner to be flown. If anything, I think this show says you can do a lot with just one death and a lot of intrigue.

This show has been a great show from a climbing network. It has the pull for more, only the show has not played every hand it has. Still, it is a 5/5 and it gets better. It ends soon, too, and the Video on Demand portions show what is coming. The extras can be checked out and seen, much like the Walking Dead could be seen months before, and I figure that is why it is releasing so soon within the playtime. It is well worth watching.

There has been a lot of hype about The Killing's unique, slow-paced approach of devoting an entire season to one murder and the show's focus on character and atmosphere. I bought into the hype at first, but became increasingly disillusioned as the season progressed.

The reality of the "slow burn" plot is that The Killing is an episode of Law and Order stretched into 13 episodes -- take away the red herrings and peripheral sub-plots (is the detective going to move to San Francisco or isn't she? can she be a better mother?) and there's not much here. The plotting was not complex, the police work was frequently incompetent and unrealistic, and the portrayal of city politics did not ring true. The season finale was especially frustrating, as I had continued to watch the show only because of the time I'd invested and the hope of some kind of payoff. No luck. I don't want to give a spoiler; just let me say that if you're frustrated when you learn the truth behind the cell phone video in the early episodes, prepare yourself for more frustration.

To be fair, I liked Mireille Enos (playing a bad detective and worse mother) and Michelle Forbes and Brendan Sexton III bought real impact to their portrayal of the dead girl's parents. But a show like this lives and dies by the quality of the writing and, while AMC aimed for The Wire, they fell considerably short. Very disappointing coming from the network that created Mad Men, one of the best written shows on television.

One final note. The Killing is set in Seattle, and as a Seattle resident I loved the frequent airborne shots and the digitally-added downtown skyline out the windows of the mayor's office. But when the writers put the Greenlake Mosque in the Rainier Valley, had a suspect in Seattle General Hospital, and put a toll booth on the Deception Pass bridge, I wished they had spent a little time on Google.

With the first season having just ended four days ago, I can say this truly is a murder-mystery series with a unique voice.

In summation, it is the story of a teenage girl who was murdered and the Seattle police officers charged with discovering who her killer was and why it happened.

But this series is more than the sum of its parts. What makes it transcendent is how it shows this murder destroying everyone remotely involved with it. During the course of its first season, we get the opportunity to see how her grieving family - particularly her parents - try to cope. Also, we are able to see how the girl's murder reverberates through her circle of friends. In most criminal procedurals, we only get to see a murder's impact on a victim when a plot-twist is being introduced. In The Killing, the deceased's family is a third of the story. Michelle Forbes, who plays the deceased girl's mother, Mitch, does such a beautiful job of conveying a combination of grief and guilt ("How could this happen?" "How could I have prevented this?" she wordlessly seems to say), that you would think you were watching a documentary on how heinous crimes impact parents.

Additionally, the murder seems to tear the police officers investigating it apart. The primary investigator, Sarah Linden, was about to move to Sonoma, California to start a new life with her teenage son and her fiancé when this girl's body is discovered. The timing couldn't be worse. Her captain asks her to stay on for a few days and assist new homicide detective, Stephen Holder, on the case. Her sense of duty and a past homicide case that still haunts her, compels her to stay. The actress who plays Sarah, Mirrielle Enos, does so with an eerie, tight-lipped self-possession. You can sense her belief that if she finds all the right clues, properly interrogates all of the right witnesses and accurately weighs all of the evidence, she will easily solve this crime. Her belief in her investigatory abilities starts to slip when much of her carefully uncovered evidence leads to a dead-end.

To make matters worse, her partner, Stephen Holder, does not appear to be up to the task. Played by Joel Kinnamen as a former Narc agent who is shrewd and street-wise but only intermittently-smart, Holder is a thirty year old man choking on his own rage. Sarah soon finds herself keeping one eye on the evidence and another on her partner. For his part, Holder knows that, if he cannot solve this case, everyone's doubts about his competence (and the rationale for his self-hatred)will be confirmed. As the series progresses, his silent desperation becomes more and more pronounced.

Finally, we get to see how this crime impacts local politics. A dozen days before a mayoral election, an ambitious city councilman named Richmond, with a fresh face and a somewhat fuzzy agenda, is deadlocked with the long- time incumbent Seattle mayor. His political aides seem convinced that, if Richmond can use this young girl's murder as proof that the mayor is soft on crime, he will win the election. Surprisingly, Billy Campbell as Councilman Richmond turns this dilemma into a compelling third component of this drama.

With all of this said, if you like police dramas, you will love this series. It is well-written and the actors did an exceptional job of showing people trying to make sense and restore order as everything around them deteriorates.